There's an AI there that says, «Ouch!»

The phrase we used to learn the spelling differences between the three words that sound the same but have different meanings is a good summary of the message that Leo XIV has shared with us in his encyclical «Magnifica Humanitas» regarding the protection of human life in the age of artificial intelligence.

Just like the mnemonic phrase we were taught as children, the Pope is pointing out something important, drawing our attention to a reality that is already among us: Artificial Intelligence. The now-famous AI—short for Artificial Intelligence—is here to stay and will transform our lives, marking not merely an era of change, but a true «turning point in history» in which we are immersed, just as Francis prophesied. 

There is an AI out there that is already making decisions for you and influencing who you are as an individual and as a society—no matter how “analog” you are or how far off the grid you live.

Although the encyclical is not technophobic by nature and acknowledges that «the advantages in terms of efficiency and the potential for improving certain services thanks to AI are evident,» the truth is that, faithful to his mission as a shepherd who must protect his sheep from wolves, the Pope warns us of many very serious dangers that are already beginning to bare their digital fangs. Each warning from the Holy Father resonates like one of those «Woe to you» cries that Jesus hurled at the scribes and Pharisees, who took advantage of their position of religious dominance to subjugate the people. To paraphrase some of the most prominent themes—not as a condemnation but as a warning about the paths down which we are being led—we could say, with Leo XIV:

Woe to the technocrats and digital oligarchs, «endowed with resources and the capacity to act”

»greater than those of many governments,« owners »of new forms of property—patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructure, and data,« because, »when these goods are concentrated in the hands of a few, without adequate means of exchange and access, a new imbalance is created that contradicts the universal destination of goods and widens the gap between the included and the excluded”!

Woe to those AI developers who, in their race to be first, don’t really know where they’re leading us! The encyclical explains that AI systems «are more “cultivated” than “built,” since developers do not directly design every detail, but rather create an architecture on which the AI “grows.”» For this reason, they carry «significant ethical and spiritual weight, since every project choice expresses a vision of humanity, and it is necessary to «verify that what is being cultivated is truly a good.»”.

Woe to the proponents of ideologies that have emerged in the wake of the digital revolution—such as transhumanism or posthumanism—«which suggest that every person must earn or justify their own worth, to the point of attributing greater value to those who are more efficient and productive,» because «from such a perspective, the person ends up being reduced to a means for obtaining results, a resource to be used and exploited, and is not recognized as an end in itself»!

Woe to the leaders of the states who, in the midst of this global crisis caused by the owners of AI, are tasked with «ensuring cohesion, unity, and a just organization of civil society, (…) seeking a balance between individual interests and the common good, without leaving the most vulnerable behind,» because «when politics abandons a long-term vision and reduces itself to short-term calculations or fruitless polarization, discourse on the common good loses credibility, and at the same time, inequalities and social divisions grow»!

Woe to the warlords who entrust lethal decisions to artificial systems, because «there is no algorithm that can make war morally acceptable»! After all, «the decision to use lethal force cannot be delegated to opaque or automated processes, but must remain under effective, conscious, and responsible human control.».

Thank you, Holy Father, for *Magnifica Humanitas*, for pointing out every «woe» in the AI. We must strive to ensure that these messages reach their intended audience.