<!–
The Catholic Church’s AI Encyclical: A Missing Piece in the Value Chain
–>
Ignoring the Elephant in the Room: The Forgotten Customer
AI systems are now ubiquitous, and the Vatican has finally weighed in with its take. Pope Leo XIV recently released Magnifica Humanitas, the first-ever encyclical on artificial intelligence. On the surface, it sounds like a major milestone, but a closer look reveals a glaring omission: the customer.
This isn’t the only recent example of AI’s most important player being overlooked. Anthropic, a prominent AI research organization, recently released the Constitution, a sweeping framework for AI development that prioritizes worker dignity above all else. Worker dignity is indeed an essential aspect of responsible AI – but what about the customer? They’re the ones actually paying for these systems and demanding value from them.
The encyclical and the Constitution might seem like unrelated events, but they share a common thread. Both focus on the worker, the developer, or the AI system itself, while forgetting the person who’s ultimately making decisions. Without the customer, AI development remains a narrow, self-serving pursuit.
The customer is the one who determines whether an AI system is successful or not. They decide which features to prioritize, which issues to tackle, and which solutions to implement. They’re the ones who assign value to the products and services these systems enable.
So, what does this mean for the future of AI? In short, it means that the industry will continue to focus on its own needs before those of its customers. This can lead to systems that are optimized for their own sake, rather than for the people who use them. AI systems that forget the customer are likely to become less user-friendly, more expensive, and ultimately, less effective. They’ll fail to deliver the value that customers expect and, in the end, fall short of their potential.
The Pope’s encyclical and Anthropic’s Constitution are crucial documents in the ongoing conversation about AI. While they provide much-needed guidance and direction, they’re not perfect – and it’s high time for the industry to remember the customer. It’s the customer who drives AI development forward, and they deserve to be at the forefront of the conversation.
