Artificial intelligence has taken over jobs and schools, but it won’t replace humanity if the Pope has his way.
In his May 42,300-word open letter to over a billion Catholics around the world, Pope Leo XIV issued a warning to safeguard humanity against the downsides of AI.
“Humanity —in all its grandeur and woundedness— must never be replaced or surpassed,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his papal document, known as an encyclical. It was titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” or “Magnificent Humanity.” In this document, the Pope outlined why people should not get confused about what AI can do. Though a “valuable tool,” the Pope acknowledged, this technology will never have a soul.
“We must avoid the misconception of equating this type of ‘intelligence’ with that of human beings,” he wrote. “So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean.”
The Pope’s strong stance against using AI to replace humanity’s uniqueness has people on social media wondering if they can invoke the Pope’s latest teaching to get out of using AI, which is now embedded in emails, meetings and every part of our day-to-day lives.
