People may take varying things away from Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), after spending time reading it.

Coming in at about 52 pages, the encyclical — one of the highest forms of teaching from a pontiff to the church at large — deals with safeguarding the human person at a time when artificial intelligence is developing into something unfathomable and, in some respects, opaque.

AI is at a point of creating great societal upheaval, and adds to the already anxiety-inducing nature of the world at large. From displacing workers worldwide to aiding in the perpetuation and depersonalization of war, AI is positioned and run in a way that runs counter to aspects of Christian life.

Here are three of my most important takeaways from reading Magnifica Humanitas.

‘Disarming’ AI

One of the major takeaways of the entire text is of “disarming” (rather than dismantling) artificial intelligence. The Catholic Church doesn’t want to reject innovation, but rather change what the technology is used for.

The Pope himself admits in chapter 3, section 110 that “AI is already an environment in which we are immersed, as well as a force with which we must engage.” As such, regulation isn’t enough: AI must be made welcoming and accessible.

Harkening back to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, Leo XIV mentioned Francis’ use of the term “technocratic paradigm,” in which there is a tendency “to let the logic of efficiency, control and profit alone shape personal, social and economic decisions.”

Leo XIV added, “When it becomes the standard by which everything is judged, it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded, reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.”

Going back to section 110, Leo said the term “to disarm” is meant to change this paradigm from one of competition to cooperation.

“Disarming AI,” said Leo, “means freeing it from the mentality of ‘armed’ competition, which today is not limited simply to the military context, but is also an economic and cognitive phenomenon,” where people are racing to make better algorithms using ever-larger datasets in a bid to “secure geopolitical or commercial dominance.”

Leo added, “To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity. It means freeing technology from monopolistic control and opening it to discussion and debate, therefore making it human-friendly and restoring it to the plurality of human cultures and ways of life.”

Human dignity beats out AI

There is a connecting thought throughout Magnifica Humanitas that points to human dignity being important.

In the introduction, Leo said that, “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human.”

In chapter 2, section 52, Leo described the ontological nature of human dignity. “This is the dignity that belongs to every human being simply by virtue of existing, of having been willed, created and loved by God. No sin, failure, humiliation or exclusion can diminish the profound value of a human life that God has willed and called into being.”

As an added note, this is a very powerful statement that does not stutter in emphasizing that every human being has dignity just by existing. Human value is not found or lost in work output or monetary gains made or unmade, but simply by being.

Comparatively, AI is described thus in chapter 3, section 99: “So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences.”

As such, even if AI can process data faster than a human being, it has none of what gives human dignity or value. It does not exist so much as imitate.

Breaking new forms of old chains

One of my favorite quotes from Magnifica Humanitas is on Pope Leo’s statement on the nature of civilization, and it segues nicely into the idea of work and care and points to how our civilization is flawed in some of the ways that truly matter.

Said Leo, “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.”

In chapter 4, Pope Leo acknowledges the nature of the internet and of AI training now, noting how “various forms of servitude directly linked to the digital economy” exist.

He added, “A significant part of the digital economy’s functioning relies on the silent work of millions of people engaged in essential yet largely unseen activities, such as data labeling, model training and content moderation, often involving disturbing material.”

He also noted the nature of conflict minerals and rare earth elements sourcing for technological development, as well as digital trafficking by criminal networks for the purpose of selling data, or treating people as data.

For Pope Leo, “This reality deeply challenges the moral conscience of our time. It is not enough to invoke efficiency, nor to celebrate the benefits of innovation, if they are built on a chain of exploitation that remains deliberately hidden. If technology promises emancipation, yet produces new forms of global subordination, it stands in contradiction to the fundamental principle of human dignity.”

For further reading

While everyone can read Magnifica Humanitas at their leisure or study it, I also recommend the following links for further explanations on major points not covered by my three main tech-adjacent takeaways.

Luke Coppen of The Pillar has a reader’s guide to digest the major points of all of the encyclical.

Meanwhile, the Laudato Si Movement has their own guide and interpretation of the text, titled “Magnifica Humanitas: A Call to Discern Technology Through Integral Ecology.”

Lastly, you may want to read Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah’s statements on Magnifica Humanitas for further insight into AI from an AI company itself. – Rappler.com