Pope Leo XIV must guide church through dangers of AI

New Pope Leo XIV used one of his first public appearances to expound on a critical issue for our time: the dangers posed by artificial intelligence.

Catholics familiar with the church’s social teaching immediately made the connection to the last Pope Leo, whose encyclical “Rerum Novarum” (Of New Things) provided a coherent, nonpolitical, thoroughly Catholic response to the social challenges presented by the industrial revolution.

Leo XIII offered a response to radical economic and political ideologies, each of which denigrated the dignity of the human person. Simultaneously, the 19th-century Leo ushered in a revival of philosophical studies in the Catholic world, demonstrating that faith and reason are partners, not enemies.

The new pope chose the name Leo, in part, precisely because he believes the world is again in the middle of a major revolution, one caused by the rise of AI.

I & robot

Unlike the prior technological revolutions, AI poses more insidious, invisible threats hidden in unknowable algorithms that are, frankly, beyond the comprehension of most of us.

AI is touted as ushering in the golden age of man. Yet a crucial element of this brave new algorithmic world is missing: us.

Like its predecessors, a main goal of the AI revolution is an increase in productivity. Where the industrial revolution physically denigrated humans through harsh working conditions or the elimination of traditional forms of labor leading to abject poverty, the AI revolution eliminates human beings altogether.

You and I become nothing more than a series of data points assessed by impersonal and opaque algorithms used to manipulate our behavior.

AI has already invaded our lives and is now busy changing not only our work and our world, but also our desires and our self-understanding.

Some manipulations are subtle: Advertisements pop up while we consume social media.

Others are more sinister: Millions of innocent images of children are manipulated using AI to generate child pornography.

The humanity

The minds of children are being formed not by their parents or teachers, but by algorithmic formulas designed to capture and keep their attention, creating a neurological feedback loop that promotes addiction.

These darker realities point toward the essence of Pope Leo XIV’s true concerns. Algorithms that lack transparency are a danger to all humanity.

We must create safeguards against the authoritarian misuse of AI — mechanisms to prevent its exploitation for suppressing freedoms or undemocratically concentrating power.

Biased and inconsistent AI systems perpetuate inequality and discrimination. In their drive to provide definitive answers, they strip away crucial nuances from complex societal questions.

How might Pope Leo respond to these and other fears?

He has already hinted at an answer: truth and freedom.

AI challenges the fundamental truth of the uniqueness of every human being, turning us into commodities, just data points gathered from our spending habits and media consumption.

We are created in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, each one of us is endowed with inalienable dignity.

This truth drives social moral questions like abortion, reproductive technologies and euthanasia — as well as fundamental questions of how we act and interact with each other.

Pope Leo’s concerns about AI, therefore, are not technological, but relate to its impact on how we understand ourselves and how we treat one another.

The misuse of AI poses serious threats to safeguarding human dignity. Algorithms use data collected from our actions to manipulate us into thinking and acting in ways that do not reflect our truest nature.

Hand in hand with truth comes authentic freedom. For Christians, this idea comes from Christ himself: “The truth will set you free.”

In the modern world, freedom is often presented as autonomy and self-determination. Authentic human freedom is rooted in the truth of who we are: created beings with limitations.

We are made for community. We all need the help, love and support of those around us.

Digital dignity

To turn AI into a tool for the common good, this Leo, like the one before him, must stand up and name the challenges to truth and freedom that this new revolution presents, and offer Gospel-based guidance to the world.

Algorithms need to be transparent, so they can’t be used to manipulate users by distorting the truth.

AI tools must be designed to augment human abilities, not to replace them.

We should develop international standards to prevent the use of AI for undemocratic purposes.

And all this can and must be done in service to our shared human dignity.

Just as his predecessor did, this Pope Leo must insist that faith be an equal partner with reason in the conversations about how to develop, use and govern AI.

Fr. John Paul Kimes is associate professor of the practice at the University of Notre Dame Law School and a fellow in canon law at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture who studies the ethics of AI with the American Security Foundation.