Pope Leo manifesto: World leaders should be ‘slowing things down’ on AI
Key takeaways
- Throughout his papacy, the first U.S.-born pope has sounded the alarm over AI and its impact on children and workers.
- In his encyclical, he referenced Pope Leo XIII, whom he referred to as his beloved predecessor.
- While the pontiff wrote that technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity, society must ensure that newly-available tools are oriented toward the good.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
In the manifesto, titled Magnifica Humanitas, the pontiff wrote that policymakers must address the widespread availability of the emerging technology with clarity to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power.
Throughout his papacy, the first U.S.-born pope has sounded the alarm over AI and its impact on children and workers. In his first address to cardinals after succeeding the late Pope Francis last May, Leo said that the technology presents new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.
In his encyclical, he referenced Pope Leo XIII, whom he referred to as his beloved predecessor. The Catholic Church is celebrating the 135th anniversary of that pontiff s encyclical, titled Rerum Novarum and published in 1891, which called for safeguarding the rights of workers amid the second Industrial Revolution.