Pope Leo XIV Sounds Alarm on Unchecked AI Development
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, has made history with his debut encyclical, a document that’s part spiritual guidance, part call to action. In it, he warns of the dangers of unchecked AI development, comparing it to the Tower of Babel – a biblical story of humanity’s hubris and ultimate failure.
Quoting an Unlikely Source
The Pope cites J.R.R. Tolkien, a British author famous for his fantasy novels, including “The Lord of the Rings.” Tolkien, a professor of Anglo-Saxon studies at Oxford, was known for his love of language and his concerns about the dehumanizing effects of technology. The Pope quotes from Tolkien’s essay “The Monsters and the Critics,” where he writes, “We make in the arts and mould into a shape, a new beauty, which had before not been: this we call creation.” The Pope is making the point that AI, when left unchecked, can create new beauty – but also new problems.
A Call to Action
Pope Leo XIV is urging people, developers, and governments to prioritize humanity in the development of AI. He emphasizes the need for a balance between progress and responsibility. The Pope’s encyclical is not a moral lecture, but a call to action. It’s a reminder that the tech industry, in its quest for innovation, must consider the consequences of its creations on society and the world. What this means for ordinary people is that governments and tech companies will need to develop new regulations and guidelines to ensure AI is developed and used in ways that serve humanity, not just the interests of corporations or individual developers.
