Twice in the last 135 years, the actions of a pope sparked massive global changes that met the cultural moment. The AI race is another such moment to meet.
Magnifica Humanitas
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo issues challenge to cardinals gathered in Rome: ‘Learn synodality by practicing it’
Leo also surprised the cardinals by telling them, “I wish to ask you for your help.”
Posted inNews
Extraordinary consistory signals Pope Leo’s push to work with cardinals on global challenges
As the second consistory of the year, the pope is making good on the cardinals’ requests for further collaboration, which the college expressed during the general congregations prior to his election last year.
Posted inShort Take
The Catholic Church has had its own governance failures. How can it weigh in on A.I. regulation?
It is fair to question whether an institution with critical governance failures of its own is well positioned to advise on regulating technology, but a close reading of the encyclical shows that Leo understands these failures.
Posted inShort Take
What ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ misunderstood about The Tower of Babel, Nehemiah and A.I.
The encyclical presents Babel and Nehemiah as moral opposites, but the biblical traditions themselves resist such neat binaries.
Posted inPodcasts
Anna Rowlands on the ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ debates
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.
Posted inPodcasts
Why Pope Leo’s A.I. encyclical is resonating with tech leaders, theologians and young Catholics
Anna Rowlands joined Colleen Dulle on America’s “Inside the Vatican” podcast to discuss the responses to Pope Leo’s now viral encyclical, its reception by the tech industry and its contributions to Catholic theology and social doctrine.
Posted inShort Take
The Enhanced Games are like the Olympics with steroids. What would Pope Leo think?
The founder of the Enhanced Games has said that he is “on a mission to build a new superhumanity.” This is precisely what “Magnifica Humanitas” warns against.
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 inFaith and Reason
Did Pope Leo actually reject just war theory? Unpacking what ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ said about the doctrine
‘Magnifica Humanitas’ asks: Is just war theory still relevant?