Lessons on humanity
This week, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity). Its subtitle, “On Safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” offers a good summation of the doctrine’s focus. Some doubt that the massive work will have much impact on our futures. But anyone serious about creating a world of justice, peace, and love should carefully study this document.
Most media accounts focus on the arguments warning of the dangers of AI. The work is a thoughtful analysis of these dangers. The Pope examines the impact of technologies motivated by a drive for profits and disdain for human life on work, families, communities, and warfare. It is a nuanced and powerful discussion. But this is only a part of the Pope’s offering. At a time when most public leadership depends on soundbites and tweets, the Pope provides an extended discussion of the unique dangers and opportunities of this moment. He does so by offering a moral clarity that reflects the delicate interplay of a thinking mind, open heart, and generous spirit. In that sense, he is not only defending the uniqueness and preciousness of each human life, but he is embodying the best of human experience, giving us an example of how we can be.
He reminds us that serious thinking begins with a clear understanding of where we are in history and the willingness to discern what is most important for guiding us today. He set the context, explaining that we are “facing a pivotal choice” between two very different futures, one that imposes domination and violence and one that promotes the common good and dignity of life.
In echoes of Fanon, he says, “Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted, and fraternity is made possible.”
The shaping of that future begins with understanding what is best in the thinking of the past. He presented his letter on the 135th anniversary of the Social Doctrine advanced by his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, who looked at the responsibilities of faith at the dawn of the industrial age. Describing the document as “a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action,” he calls for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations.” In doing so, we discover that there are critical questions that “can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?”
He rejects the idea that technology is neutral. Rather, “it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it.” Current technologies, especially AI, he argues, are controlled by private individuals, outside of any concern for community or the common good.
Pope Leo is not blind to the contradictions of history or the failures of the Church. He argues that it is precisely because the Church failed to protect the fullness of humanity in the past that it must strive to do better now. He acknowledges the role the Church played in the enslavement of Africans and in colonial domination. He apologizes and asks for forgiveness. But it is through acknowledging these failures to protect our collective humanity that he recognizes the dangers of “enslavement” by new forms of technological domination.
He urges us to “remember that humanity flourishes not despite limitations, but often through them.
“To eliminate suffering entirely would mean, in the end, extinguishing love and desire as well. Those who love and desire cannot avoid passing through trial and suffering, and over the years, we carry within us lessons that leave their mark like scars, the memories of a journey shaped by freedom and failure, dreams and disappointments. It is only thanks to the interplay of these elements that the wonders of the soul occur within us, allowing us to sense the richness of our humanity.”
Rather than accept technological domination as inevitable, he encourages us to engage fully with our history and each other to develop a shared vision of what is good for all life. Through such engagement, we can produce visions of a better, shared world rooted in love. He explains:
The quality of a civilization is measured not by the power of its means, but by the care it is able to offer, by its ability to recognize the other as a face, not merely as a function. The ability to care for one another is a fundamental dimension of our humanity, one that is learned and mastered through lived experience.