It’s always the ancient story of the man with the club. It could have been used to defend oneself from a wild beast. It could be used against another man. This was the case for all scientific discoveries and technological innovations. Fire, iron, even gunpowder, engines, electricity, nuclear power! The Internet and now artificial intelligence. Tools, to be used for or against man. This interests the Pope, this interests the Church, being on the side of man, putting man at the centre, of all cognitive processes, of all the development of science and technology.
We are still children, globally, navigating the digital age: only today are we beginning to understand the consequences that we had not foreseen of its spread, of its inevitability, for working, for living, for surviving. However, we have to deal with fake news, with withdrawal syndromes, with faltering memories, even in the youngest, with changes at the brain level of the ego. Prudence is a virtue, not a hindrance, doubt is an exercise of reason, not always a free brake. Because when the titles and comments on Pope Leo’s encyclical write that it “warns” against AI, they seem to follow a cliché about the wait-and-see attitude of the ecclesial hierarchies, slow to move in the fast-paced world; or they rejoice at the alleged progressive push, amazed by a Pontiff who understands and deals with AI.
But the encyclical Magnificent Humanitas it’s not about AI. It is about the time in which AI advances at a dizzying pace and humanity must live with it, so that it is an instrument at the service of man and the common good. He recognizes its potential, in the work (depends) and healthcare (depends) fields, but he understands the dangers and foresees greater ones. The manipulation of the person, the facilitation and speeding up of all offensive and deadly actions. And then the concentration of power in the hands of a few oligarchs in the world, allies in power over the world and domination over man.
Who judges the use of accumulated data to control the world? Who controls the controllers? This is the prophecy for which the Pope warns and prays, inviting governments and civil societies not only to be vigilant, but to study to do good; to unite with those who have good will and intelligence, to write common rules and enforce them. International bodies, one might say. Which although they respond to variable powers, to interests sometimes of the prevailing party, and are slow. Instead, the Church can once again be the lookout for true humanism, seeking and hoping for the support of other religions. In the face of “new things”, the word of Jesus is always new, the judgment of the Gospel, the commandment to love God and one’s neighbor as oneself. It is not only a spiritual message, but a political one: we firmly believe that the common good is the interest of individuals and communities, of States. If it is true that, as Mother Teresa said, we will always have the poor with us, at least the tension towards brotherhood is the only key to the salvation of the world.
