AHEAD OF the 60th World Day of Social Communications on Ascension Sunday on May 17, Pope Leo XIV reminded Christians of the importance of humans’ uniqueness and nature in the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
In a message released on Saturday, Jan. 24, coinciding with the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists and writers, the pope warned of the harms that AI technology could bring, including the possibility of “altering the relationship between human beings,” which, according to him, is humanity’s deepest level of communication.
“The challenge ahead of us is not to stop digital innovation, but to guide it, to be aware of its ambivalent nature. It is up to each of us to raise our voices in defense of human beings, so that these tools can truly be integrated by us as allies,” the pope said in his message written in Spanish, Italian and Polish.
An alliance
With the title “Guarding Human Voices and Faces,” the pope emphasized that living with AI is possible through an “alliance” based on responsibility, cooperation, and education.
Pope Leo urged the creators and developers of AI models to be transparent and socially responsible, ensuring that systems promote informed consent from users.
“The same responsibility is also required of national legislators and regulators, who are responsible for ensuring respect for human dignity. Appropriate regulation can protect people from forming emotional attachments to chatbots and curb the spread of false, manipulative, or misleading content, preserving the integrity of information as opposed to its deceptive simulation,” he added.
On cooperation, the pope said all sectors of society should collectively create safeguards on the use of digital tools and AI.
“We are all called upon to cooperate. All stakeholders—from the technology industry to legislators, from creative companies to academia, from artists to journalists to educators—must be involved in building and enforcing informed and responsible digital citizenship,” he said.
Education increases humans’ ability to think critically and evaluate the reliability of sources, according to the pope.
“This is precisely why it is increasingly urgent to introduce media, information, and AI literacy into educational systems at all levels. As Catholics, we can and must make our contribution so that people—especially young people—acquire critical thinking skills and grow in freedom of spirit,” Pope Leo said.
Older people and marginalized members of society must also be educated about AI so they do not “feel excluded and powerless in the face of rapid technological change.”
‘Anthropological problem’
Pope Leo pointed out that the challenge of AI use is anthropological and is already embedded in changing human nature.
He urged Christians to be wary when welcoming the opportunities offered by AI and to approach these with courage, determination and discernment.
The pontiff said AI has undermined the “masterpieces” of human creation, especially in music, art and literature, which, according to him, were reduced to a “mere training ground for machines.”
“We allow ourselves to be robbed of the opportunity to encounter others, who are always different from us, and with whom we can and must learn to engage. Without the acceptance of otherness, there can be neither relationship nor friendship,” he said, reflecting on the overuse and reliance on digital technology.
The 60th World Day of Social Communications, established by the Second Vatican Council, will bear the theme “Preserving human voices and faces,” focusing on protecting human dignity, empathy, and truth against the rapid rise of AI. Y.A.R. Osea
