I appreciated understanding how the church stays informed about scientific technologies and informs the industry. I have deep respect for Pope Leo and completely agree with his moral guide about using AI intentionally for promoting good in the world. I just wrote an article about the mindful use of AI with a similar perspective.
It was interesting to see Anthropic actively seeking moral guidance to shape its constitution. As users of AI we can do our part by supporting companies that are trying to be ethical despite political and financial pressures.
Your insight drawn from data that the church didn't shift followers behaviors but has most impact on policy is compelling. Thank you for this interesting and insightful article ☀️
This was one of the most fascinating, insightful and well written dives I've experienced in at least the past month, which is like 12 months in AI years. Bravo.
Thank you for this article. I also recommend reading "Quo Vadis, Humanitas, thinking through christian anthropology in the face of certain scenarios for the future of humanity" by the International Theological Commission (march 4, 2026), which was certainly instrumental in preparing Pope Leo's encyclical. I believe the semantic similarity of the titles is also intentional. Thanks again!
I was really interested to hear about the structural underpinnings of Pope Leo's new encyclical - all the teams invested in the background. It's pretty cool to think that although he "authored" it - certainly, some of his personality can be found there - it is ultimately a synthesis of a gathering of great minds dedicated to identifying risk and encouraging the good wherever possible.
What makes Rerum Novarum stand is that is speaks about the human condition, which is constantly subject to new circumstances in time, but has an eternal dimension that simply cannot be altered. I hope that over time we will see that the same is true for Magnificas Humanitas - it speaks to us about ourselves with fatherly guidance. It's not necessarily a novel idea to think that we are leaving our imprint on the tools we create - I'm thinking of the movie Iron Giant, for example (Avatar is a weaker example). But it is a truth we need to be reminded of in this unique instance of concern. If we had to articulate the character of an encyclical that resonates over time, (why is it a fruitful expression of the Church) it would be a document that guides in generalities and as you said, gives structure to thought about a topic with sufficient room for various specifities to play out in whichever locality it is being read (or heard).
I am thrilled seeing this up on ProfG; kudos to you for following your curiosity, and to the team there for encouraging this level of inquiry under its helm!
I read (most) of the encycical and I liked that the Pope and the catholic church took time to understand pretty accurately the issues of the current AI tech.
However it is impossible not to remember what the church is in general vis-a-vis to sciences.
I wonder if the PAS is just a watchdog for the church used to sniff the next danger for the church old problem of dominating population psych and squash the next Bruno without burning at stake as they did not so long ago.
This AI has a lot in common with the religious thinking since they both heavily rely on superficial correlation instead of seeking causal pathways in the world.
AI unfortunately is a crazy thing that can be worse than science an fact for any religion since it can become competition for them and I suspect they realized that well.
I know I sound cynical but in this world we are now swimming in being cynical is just common sense I guess.
I appreciated understanding how the church stays informed about scientific technologies and informs the industry. I have deep respect for Pope Leo and completely agree with his moral guide about using AI intentionally for promoting good in the world. I just wrote an article about the mindful use of AI with a similar perspective.
It was interesting to see Anthropic actively seeking moral guidance to shape its constitution. As users of AI we can do our part by supporting companies that are trying to be ethical despite political and financial pressures.
Your insight drawn from data that the church didn't shift followers behaviors but has most impact on policy is compelling. Thank you for this interesting and insightful article ☀️
This was one of the most fascinating, insightful and well written dives I've experienced in at least the past month, which is like 12 months in AI years. Bravo.
🤓❤️🤓
Been meaning to read Magnifica Humanitas but now I'm inspired to, thank you.
Great explainer, thank you. Sounds similar to issues explored in Synderesis, also here on Substack.
Thank you for this article. I also recommend reading "Quo Vadis, Humanitas, thinking through christian anthropology in the face of certain scenarios for the future of humanity" by the International Theological Commission (march 4, 2026), which was certainly instrumental in preparing Pope Leo's encyclical. I believe the semantic similarity of the titles is also intentional. Thanks again!
I was really interested to hear about the structural underpinnings of Pope Leo's new encyclical - all the teams invested in the background. It's pretty cool to think that although he "authored" it - certainly, some of his personality can be found there - it is ultimately a synthesis of a gathering of great minds dedicated to identifying risk and encouraging the good wherever possible.
What makes Rerum Novarum stand is that is speaks about the human condition, which is constantly subject to new circumstances in time, but has an eternal dimension that simply cannot be altered. I hope that over time we will see that the same is true for Magnificas Humanitas - it speaks to us about ourselves with fatherly guidance. It's not necessarily a novel idea to think that we are leaving our imprint on the tools we create - I'm thinking of the movie Iron Giant, for example (Avatar is a weaker example). But it is a truth we need to be reminded of in this unique instance of concern. If we had to articulate the character of an encyclical that resonates over time, (why is it a fruitful expression of the Church) it would be a document that guides in generalities and as you said, gives structure to thought about a topic with sufficient room for various specifities to play out in whichever locality it is being read (or heard).
I am thrilled seeing this up on ProfG; kudos to you for following your curiosity, and to the team there for encouraging this level of inquiry under its helm!
I read (most) of the encycical and I liked that the Pope and the catholic church took time to understand pretty accurately the issues of the current AI tech.
However it is impossible not to remember what the church is in general vis-a-vis to sciences.
I wonder if the PAS is just a watchdog for the church used to sniff the next danger for the church old problem of dominating population psych and squash the next Bruno without burning at stake as they did not so long ago.
This AI has a lot in common with the religious thinking since they both heavily rely on superficial correlation instead of seeking causal pathways in the world.
AI unfortunately is a crazy thing that can be worse than science an fact for any religion since it can become competition for them and I suspect they realized that well.
I know I sound cynical but in this world we are now swimming in being cynical is just common sense I guess.
🥂🖖🇨🇦