The pope is so hot right now. Everyone is discussing the long-awaited Magnifica Humanitas papal encyclical from the Roman Pontiff. It makes sense. In a world where much of the responsibility for moral leadership has been abdicated, we are in much need of a figure who can provide that leadership with reach and authority. Enter Pope Leo XIV, who took his name when he ascended to the papacy from the previous Pope Leo XIII, who dedicated much of his time to helping the world come to grips with industrialization.
Leo V.I.V. feels a similar responsibility with the rise of AI, so this encyclical is close to his heart. I’m still going through reviews of it, then I want to read the 43k-word document itself. There are so many shareable quotes from this encyclical, but this article in The NYT provides 5 bullet points that sum up some of the arguments made.
- Government regulation of the private companies that are driving the development of AI.
- Protection and retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened.
- Education to help students think critically about the technology.
- Action to protect children from violent, hypersexualized, or fake information online that is often generated by AI.
- Safeguards to ensure that humans, not artificial intelligence, remain responsible for all decisions regarding the use of weapons.
It’s troubling that none of these things seem to be happening in any meaningful way. That’s precisely why we need a credible voice such as Leo’s to bring forth the case for their implementation.
