tech
The pope’s AI encyclical isn’t really about AI
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical uses AI as a lens to diagnose older problems: concentrated power, eroding democracy, and a tech elite that shapes the world to its own advantage.
TL;DR
- Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, *Magnifica Humanitas*, addresses safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.
- The encyclical focuses on pre-existing issues like inequality, war, erosion of democracy, and concentrated power, using AI as a modern example.
- Technology developed and governed by a select elite cannot inherently serve the common good, according to the pope.
- AI tends to amplify the power of those who already possess economic resources, expertise, and data access, leading to potential manipulation and exclusion.
- The pope called for AI to have clear criteria, effective oversight, and participation from affected communities.
- He also urged an end to the AI arms race, criticizing the notion that technical power grants governing rights.
- Concerns about AI-driven misinformation and data manipulation pose fundamental challenges to truth recognition and cognitive freedom, impacting democratic politics.