- 1) Artificial intelligence:<\/strong> general term for technology that emulates human intelligence. The ability to learn from data, recognize patterns, solve problems, make decisions, and generate original content from human cues are characteristics of AI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n - 2) Algorithm:<\/strong> In essence, a routine, sequential process for performing a task. More complex AI algorithms are designed to contemplate multiple what-if scenarios in a given situation and to learn from the data they are trained on. Pope Leo XIV warns in his encyclical that AI algorithms can be used to exert dominion over the vulnerable and over humanity itself, eroding responsibility and empathy. - 3) Alignment:<\/strong> In AI development, the process of ensuring that technology conforms to human values, so that AI models safely serve human interests. The \u201cemerging misalignment\u201d,<\/a> where AI deviates from such norms and behaves in harmful ways, is a growing concern among experts in AI ethics and theology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pope Leo XIV insists that alignment entails an additional condition: \u201cthe possibility of openly discussing the ethical frameworks involved and subjecting them to shared standards of social justice. Otherwise, those who control AI will impose their own moral vision, which will become the invisible infrastructure of these systems.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 4) Babel<\/a>, the Tower of Babel:<\/strong> Described in Genesis 11:1-9<\/a> , The city and tower built by the nations of the earth in the valley of Shinar after Noah and his family survived the flood. Because the nations, who spoke the same language, undertook the project with human pride, the Lord confused their language, which caused division and dispersion throughout the earth. In section 7 of his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV uses this example to show \u201cthe limits of any effort which, however grandiose, springs from self-assertion, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God's blessing.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n - 5) Catholic social doctrine (social doctrine):<\/strong> The Church's teaching - which is based on papal, conciliar and ecclesiastical documents - on the means for building a just society<\/a> and living holiness in modern life. As Pope Leo XIV explains in his encyclical, the term was coined by Pope Pius XII in 1950, but owes its development to \u201ca long tradition of ecclesial reflection on life in society, rooted in Sacred Scripture, the Fathers of the Church and the theological and legal developments of the Middle Ages and the modern era.\u201d Pope Leo XIV also notes that his \u201cbeloved predecessor,\u201d Leo XIII, pushed that tradition toward modern applications in his 1891 encyclical \u201cRerum Novarum.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Principles of Catholic Social Teaching<\/strong> - 6) City of God, city of man:<\/strong> symbols, respectively, of faith in God and unbelief. St. Augustine contrasts the two in his best known work \u2018The City of God\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV (a member of the Order of St. Augustine, who frequently invokes the saint's thought) quotes this image and the observation of St. Augustine: \u201cTwo loves have built two cities: the earthly city, self-love to the point of contempt for God; the heavenly city, love of God to the point of contempt for oneself.\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pope Leo XIV then reflects: \u201cAs throughout history, these two loves continue to vie for dominance in our hearts today. The age of AI is no exception: the building of Babel or the rebuilding of Jerusalem begins within each of us.\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 7) Ecology of communication:<\/strong> A model for understanding the dynamics between communication and social order. This concept, sometimes referred to as \u2018media ecology\u2019, has its roots in the communication studies of the 1960s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV uses this term to advocate, among other things, transparency in Church communications, personal data protection and content selection; digital and media literacy; serious journalism; verification of information; and the promotion of critical thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pope notes that these actions reflect \u201cthe fundamental principle\u201d that \u201ctruth is a common good and not the property of those who hold power and influence.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 8) Integral human development:<\/strong> term that appears in St. Paul VI's 1967 encyclical, \u2018.\u2018Populorum Progressio\u2019.\u2019<\/a>. In this text, the flourishing of individuals and peoples is conceived holistically, taking into account spiritual, cultural, moral and relational concerns, with an eye not only to present generations, but also to future generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept is central to Catholic social teaching (see above), and Pope Francis established the Vatican's Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his encyclical, Leo XIV describes integral human development as \u201cthe framework through which we can interpret the changes of our time, including those brought about by the digital revolution.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 9) Large-scale language model:<\/strong> A type of AI model capable of being trained to understand and generate language in a human-like manner, with context and nuance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 10) Multilateralism<\/strong>In international relations, the concept of cooperation among diverse nations. Originally a geometric term meaning \u201cmultilateral\u201d. Multilateralism is central to entities such as the United Nations and to international agreements on a rules-based order that safeguards human life and dignity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV points to a crisis in the current multilateral system, not only due to \u201cstructural limitations\u201d, but also to \u201ca frequent lack of shared will to support and reform it, or to recognize its moral authority\u201d. Joint efforts for the common good are further threatened by resurgent attempts to \u201cforge a collective identity in opposition to an enemy\u201d, where each side declares itself a \u201cvictim with the right to retaliate\u201d and substitutes international law for the idea that \u201cmight makes right\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, Pope Leo warns, power politics is relegating peace-building initiatives to the background and compromising \u201cthe achievements of humanitarian law,\u201d and the protection of civilians, and \u201cespecially children,\u201d in the midst of conflict is considered \u201ca naive relic of the past.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 11) Nehemiah:<\/strong> Name of both the governor of Judah and the book<\/a> biblical. Around 444 B.C., the Persian king Artaxerxes I granted Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem - where some Jews, after the Babylonian exile of the sixth century B.C., had begun to resettle - in order to gather and lead the people in the joint restoration of their ancient city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike Babel, as stated by Pope Leo XIV in his encyclical, this effort led by Nehemiah (and later by Ezra) put God at the center and prioritized communion and the rebuilding of relationships over uniformity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 12) Political realism, realpolitik:<\/strong> Political realism is a political theory that puts power ahead of morality and ethics, arguing, in effect, that \u201cmight makes right\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In international relations, realpolitik (a term popularized in the 19th century) also privileges power, as well as national interest, over other principles and considerations, framing it as a pragmatic policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his encyclical, the Pope warns that both philosophies-the latter he condemns as \u201ctruly irresponsible\u201d-contribute to presenting war as inevitable, thus preventing a genuine peace based on justice and charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - 13) Technocratic paradigm:<\/strong> a term also used by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical, \u2018Laudato Si\u2019\u2019,<\/a> to describe a worldview in which humanity employs technology for the primary purpose of \u201cpossession, mastery and transformation,\u201d rather than humble and grateful stewardship of God's abundant gifts. - 14) Transhumanism and posthumanism:<\/strong> Transhumanism argues that humans can transcend their limitations, especially through scientific advances such as informatics, cryogenics, biomedicine and other technological interventions. Posthumanism, on the other hand, contradicts this view of human centrality, with some posthumanists advocating a hybridization between humans, machines and the environment. - 15) \u00abDisarming\u00bb the AI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pope Leo XIV has called for vigilance at the Vatican press conference. His conversations with industry leaders, including \u201cvery troubling voices\u201d who warned him about autonomous weapons systems beyond effective human governance, had led him to the \u201cdisturbing conviction,\u201d expressed in Magnifica Humanitas,\u201d that Artificial Intelligence (AI) must be disarmed.\u201d said Pope Leo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In presenting \u201cMagnifica Humanitas,\u201d the Pope revealed that the document was \u201cborn out of listening\u201d to scientists, educators, parents and technology leaders, including those who expressed concerns about algorithms that deny health care, jobs and security using \u201cdata tainted by bias and injustice.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comparing AI to nuclear power, Pope Leo said that technology must serve the common good, not domination or exclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n - 16) And \u201cbuild\u201d the city <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Leo XIV has pointed out that disarming AI is not enough, but that \u201cwe must build.\u201d He highlighted the first sentence of his encyclical, in which he wrote that humanity today faces \u201ca crucial choice: either to build a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity live together.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the press conference, the Pope drew on his missionary experience in Peru, recalling the 2017 floods that devastated communities in the north of the country and the arduous reconstruction work that followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRebuilding does not mean simply replacing what has been destroyed,\u201d he said. \u201cIt means repairing ties, restoring trust and rekindling hope for the future.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christopher Olah, and the Pope's response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In \u201cMagnifica Humanitas\u201d, Pope Leo XIV writes that \u201cit is not possible to offer a single and complete definition of AI\u201d.
\u201cWhat can be said is that we should avoid the misconception of equating this type of \u2018intelligence\u2019 with that of humans,\u201d he continued. \u201cThese systems simply mimic certain functions of human intelligence. In doing so, they often surpass human intelligence in speed and computational capability, offering tangible benefits in many fields. However, this power is still entirely tied to data processing.\u201d.
AI is programmed in several programming languages, including Python, C++, Java and R. Everyday examples of AI in action include various types of chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, online product recommendations and virtual personal assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri. AI has a wide range of business applications in almost every market sector, including healthcare, education, energy and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CerebrohumanoAzul.jpg\")
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\u201cFrom this follows a simple but compelling consequence: we cannot consider AI to be morally neutral,\u201d he writes. \u201cIn reality, every technical tool incorporates decisions and priorities through what it measures, ignores and optimizes, and how it classifies people and situations.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ChatGPT.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u00bfDominion over humanity<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The key principles of the catholic social doctrine<\/a> are: the common good; the universal destination of goods, which holds that the goods of creation are destined for all (even when private property is justly acquired). Subsidiarity, which emphasizes that the larger institutions of society, including the state, should not overwhelm or interfere with the smaller ones (including families and ecclesial communities). Solidarity holds that humanity, even with its differences, is one family. And justice, which according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church \u201cconsists in the constant and firm will to give what is due to God and to one's neighbor\u201d.
In his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV stresses that AI and its inherent power must be evaluated according to the principles of Catholic social teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RefugiadosninosCaritasPolonia.jpg\")
Focus on present and future generations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
He notes that economic globalization following the collapse of European communist regimes in 1989 is far from \u201cgenuine multilateralism.\u201d Instead, he writes that globalization's \u201calmost blind faith in markets\u201d has \u201cprovoked fundamentalist, identitarian and nationalist reactions,\u201d and has degenerated into \u201ca disorderly and conflictual multipolarism with a widespread sense of distrust.\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\nInternational law is replaced by \u2018might makes right\u2019.\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pope Leo XIV writes that this \u201cpervasive technocratic paradigm...amplified by the digital revolution and AI, threatens to normalize an anti-human vision. In that vision, fullness of life is equated with having more, reducing weakness, eliminating uncertainty, and exercising total control. When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.omnesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TranshumanismoRobot1.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
\u201cAlthough these ideas remain largely speculative, they acquire relevance by altering the collective imagination and thereby influencing social, economic and political decisions,\u201d writes Pope Leo XIV in his encyclical.
They contrast these perspectives with the Christian conception of humanity as God's creation, noting that human limitations constitute vital opportunities to \u201crecognize the inviolable dignity of each person,\u201d live with compassion and \u201cencounter the presence of the Lord.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n