{"id":73247,"date":"2026-07-01T22:48:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/?p=73247"},"modified":"2026-07-01T22:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:48:37","slug":"ai-and-the-question-of-what-it-means-to-be-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/ai-and-the-question-of-what-it-means-to-be-human\/","title":{"rendered":"AI and the Question of What It Means to Be Human"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Pope Leo XIV\u2019s encyclical, Magnifica humanitas: On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence<\/em>.<\/strong><\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Is society being lured into losing itself in yet another Tower of Babel?<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Is it plunging into one-sidedness, uniformity, and a technocratic paradigm\u2014a society in which \u201ca single language, a single technology, a single direction\u201d is to reign?<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Or will we choose the rebuilding of Jerusalem,<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> where human dignity and collective action form the new language\u2014not a single language, but a shared one? Pope Leo XIV opens his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas<\/em> (\u201cMagnificent Humanity\u201d) with these two images. The writing addresses the dizzying pace of technological developments and serves as a call to action\u2014a wake-up call\u2014to take responsibility for our humanity: \u201cWe are living through a rapid phase of transition, a \u2018change of era,\u2019 in which\u00ad\u2014while some are vying for the future of new technologies and others dedicate themselves to reflecting on the matter\u2014most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best.\u201d<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Previously, the Pope spoke out against U.S. military actions. Here again, he plainly conveys his understanding of the spirit of the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Aula Nuova del Sinodo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, May 25, 2026 colleagues and journalists welcomed Pope Leo XIV in the Aula Nuova del Sinodo [New Hall of the Synod]. The occasion was his first encyclical (signed on May 15) and the 135th anniversary of the encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII, his namesake and predecessor, in 1891. This earlier encyclical, Rerum novarum<\/em> (\u201cOn New Things\u201d), established the foundation for the modern Catholic social teaching, to which Pope Leo XIV explicitly refers.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> His encyclical is one of the Holy See\u2019s most significant doctrinal documents. In it, the Catholic Church leadership takes a stand; it is addressed to the 1.4 billion believers and \u201cto all people of good will.\u201d A fast-paced video opened the gathering.<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Footage of past popes during pivotal public moments alternated with scenes of technological developments and their impacts\u2014from factories and computers to the first atomic bomb explosion on July 16, 1945 in the desert of New Mexico, as well as imagery related to the use of social media. The music softened. Images of vulnerable populations, children, and nature appeared on the screen, followed by the concepts \u201csolidarity,\u201d \u201ccommon good,\u201d \u201csubsidiarity,\u201d and \u201csocial justice\u201d\u2014principles of Catholic social teaching. Tension rose among members of the large Church community, while outsiders may have felt skeptical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring the Spiritual and Cultural Roots of These Changes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After he took office on May 8, 2025, people often wondered whether\u2014and how\u2014the new pope would follow in the footsteps of his popular predecessor, Francis. Francis\u2019 encyclical Laudato Si\u2019: On Care for Our Common Home<\/em>,<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span> led many to view him as the ecological, green pope. He linked environmental and climate issues to social and economic challenges and called for the crises of our time to be understood as an expression of a deeper spiritual crisis. According to various observers, the new pope is succeeding in building on his predecessor\u2019s legacy by drawing on this encyclical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Magnifica Humanitas<\/em>, Leo XIV calls for a \u201cshared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations.\u201d<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> In the subchapter \u201cBreaking the chains of new forms of slavery,\u201d he posits that \u201cit is not enough to invoke efficiency, nor to celebrate the benefits of innovation, if they are built on a chain of exploitation that remains deliberately hidden. If technology promises emancipation, yet produces new forms of global subordination, it stands in contradiction to the fundamental principle of human dignity.\u201d<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> This development is attributed to the underlying and profound narratives of transhumanism and posthumanism. It is noteworthy that a co-founder of Anthropic, one of the largest AI enterprises\u201433-year-old Christopher Olah\u2014appeared as a speaker alongside the pope. Olah spoke in favor of a future that respects human dignity and of developing AI in service to humanity. According to Olah, AI technology differs fundamentally from other technologies, such as aircraft construction, where developers can understand how a system was designed. AI, on the other hand, is not merely built but rather\u2014and in a certain sense\u2014\u201dgrows\u201d independently of its creators. \u201cThey remain in important ways mysterious even to those of us who train them,\u201d said Olah.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The questions raised by AI cannot, therefore, be answered by its developers alone, but require the input of spiritual, cultural, and philosophical communities. Olah raised three questions: 1) \u201cHow can we ensure the gains of AI are shared globally?\u201d 2) \u201cIf AI models are going to be widespread, what does it look like for humans, families, and the world to flourish?\u201d 3) \u201c[W]hat is actually happening inside [AI]\u201d?<\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Will Answer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Pope\u2019s densely written encyclical contains much more. At the same time, it should be clear that there are numerous dissenting voices and objections, including some within the Catholic Church itself, which throughout its history has repeatedly been entangled in abuses of power and violations of human dignity\u2014to name just the tip of the iceberg. One question remains: Who are the people and institutions of spiritual, cultural, and philosophical life to which Christopher Olah refers? Who can help find answers to these crucial questions of our time and help shape this historic moment? This work should not take place behind closed doors, but on the world stage for all to see. The encyclical concludes with a call to action and a statement: \u201cEvery technical or economic decision should include spiritual discernment and be an opportunity for assessing whether the advances in AI are promoting justice and participation or concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a select few.\u201d<\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span> I invite you to take a clear look at the supply chains of digital products, at the working conditions hidden behind our technical devices, at the mechanisms that profit from manipulation and war, and\u2014at the same time\u2014to seek concrete ways to promote justice, participation, and the care of creation. The hope we proclaim comes from heaven, \u201cto create a new story here below.\u201d<\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Translation <\/strong>Joshua Kelberman
Photo\u00a0<\/strong>Pope Leo\u00a0XIV,\u00a02025. CC BY-SA 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Pope Leo XIV\u2019s encyclical, Magnifica humanitas: On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. Is society being lured into losing itself in yet another Tower of Babel? Is it plunging into one-sidedness, uniformity, and a technocratic paradigm\u2014a society in which \u201ca single language, a single technology, a single direction\u201d is to reign? Or will we choose the rebuilding of Jerusalem, where human dignity and collective action form the new language\u2014not a single language, but a shared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9284,"featured_media":73092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8788,9201],"tags":[11812,11814,8824],"class_list":["post-73247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay-en","category-religion-en","tag-ausgabe-25-26-2026-en","tag-english-issue-27-28-2026","tag-spotlights"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73247"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73269,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73247\/revisions\/73269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}