Pope Leo’s encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ published May 25, has sparked debates in the worlds of technology and theology while galvanizing online creators opposed to artificial intelligence. Anna Rowlands, a theologian and co-presenter of the text with Pope Leo, joins Colleen Dulle to parse the encyclical’s reception, its contributions to Catholic teaching, and whether workers can use the encyclical to justify religious exemptions to using A.I.
A.I.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Priests: Please, don’t let A.I. write your homilies for you
And the same goes for parents, teachers, catechists and other evangelizers.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Orwell, Asimov and predicting the future of A.I.
Writers like George Orwell and Isaac Asimov—and Pope Leo—remind us that we should never let technology take away our human dignity.
Posted inDispatches
Jesuits to Congress: Look to Pope Leo for A.I. policy ideas
On June 2, the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States addressed a letter to congressional leaders on the implications of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” for A.I. policy.
Posted inFaith and Reason
A.I. and the human person: A theologian on ‘Magnifica Humanitas’
In “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo draws measured judgments about the features, promises and risks associated with the advanced technology revolution that is rapidly reshaping the ways we communicate, work and govern.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
‘The Social Network’ and ‘Magnifica Humanitas’: Warnings against progress at the expense of our humanity
Both the encyclical and the film ask the same question: What role does the human heart play in technological progress?
Posted inOf Many Things
A.I. is the headline for ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ but Catholic social teaching is its spine
The first two chapters of ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ are a masterclass in how the church understands and develops its social teaching.
Posted inShort Take
Why should anyone listen to what Pope Leo says about AI?
Almost immediately after Pope Leo released “Magnifica Humanitas,” critics asked what the Holy Father could possibly know about a topic as complex as artificial intelligence.
Posted inFaith in Focus
When it comes to A.I., the kids (may) be alright
It is also easy to boo huge, faceless forces inexorably inserting A.I. into every facet of our lives against our will. It is harder to reject it when it is something less global but which we actually have the power to reject.
Posted inShort Take
The dueling A.I. apocalypses—and what Pope Leo has to say about both
No sort of apocalyptic nonsense is quite so pervasive today as what comes from A.I. obsessives—boosters and doomers alike.