These are some of my thoughts on Pope Leo XIV’sMagnifica Humanitas – On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligenceand theencyclical video presentation.
The future of artificial intelligence is in a building state; thus, the encyclical try to be a seed for discussion and awareness.
The main challenges highlighted in the encyclical can be summarised in three points:
At the centre of these three points us, the humans, the human limits and the human dignity.
The speed and simplicity with which information, complex analyses, media content and practical assistance can be accessed undoubtedly makes life easier. Yet they can also encourage excessive reliance and the search for ready-made answers, and weaken personal creativity and judgment.
The apparent objectivity of the responses and suggestions these systems provide can lead us to overlook the fact that they reflect the cultural assumptions of those who designed and trained them, with all their strengths and limitations.
The artificial imitation of positive human communication — words of advice, empathy, friendship and even love — can be engaging and at times genuinely helpful. However, for less discerning users, it can also be misleading, creating the illusion of a relationship with a real personal subject. When words are simulated, they do not build genuine relationships, but only their appearance.
The artificial imitation of care or support can become particularly risky when it enters contexts where real relationships and emotional bonds are lacking.
Here, the danger is not so much that a person may believe they are communicating with another person, but rather that they may gradually lose the very desire to form genuine human connections.
— Magnifica Humanitas, A valuable tool that requires vigilance
The Human Limits and The Human DignityLimit not as a defect, but as space where humans mature and foster compassion, empathy, understanding of the suffering of another person.
While dignity is all that makes humans worthy of calling ourselves humans.