Cardinal McElroy calls for new social contract to deal with AI
The "church seeks to be a vital part" of the dialogue on artificial intelligence "so that the benefits of the digital age will be sustained and enhanced and the dangers minimized," the cardinal said.
2 days ago
Cardinal Robert McElroy called for artificial intelligence to be developed under a shared moral framework that protects human dignity, rather than being guided only by efficiency or economic interests. He linked that appeal to a broader call for solidarity, including in the treatment of migrants and refugees. 1
Speaking at St. Anselm Abbey on September 26, McElroy discussed Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and the moral questions raised by AI and the digital revolution. He said technological progress should be judged by its effects on people and society, not simply by innovation, efficiency, or economic gain. 1
McElroy identified six principles of Catholic social teaching as guides for assessing emerging technologies: human dignity, the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity, and social justice. He warned that a “technocratic paradigm” can treat people as data, consumers, or economic units while sidelining moral responsibility. 1
He argued that decisions about AI should not be left solely to technology companies, researchers, or governments. His proposed “social contract for the digital world” would involve workers, business leaders, universities, religious communities, government officials, and representatives of poor and marginalized people. 1
The discussion, he said, concerns more than technology itself: AI raises questions about employment, privacy, education, warfare, family life, and truth. The central issue is whether society can direct technological change toward human flourishing. 1
The following evening, McElroy preached at a Mass for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Drawing on the parable of the Good Samaritan, he urged people not to look away from the suffering of migrants, families facing deportation, and communities living in fear. 1
He grounded his appeal in both Scripture’s call to care for strangers and vulnerable people and the history of the United States as a country shaped by immigrants seeking freedom, opportunity, and refuge. He said Christian responsibility calls for action and closeness to those who suffer, not merely observation or sympathy. 1
Across both addresses, McElroy emphasized that human dignity and solidarity should guide responses to social change—whether in shaping AI or addressing the needs of migrants and refugees. 1*
Human dignity and the common good in the governance of emerging technologies
Human dignity and the common good are not optional ethical considerations to add after emerging technologies have been developed. In Catholic social teaching, they are standards for deciding what to build, how to use it, and how to govern its effects. Technology is genuinely beneficial when it serves people and society; innovation by itself does not prove that a technology is progress.
Human dignity belongs to every person and cannot be measured by productivity, wealth, data, or an algorithmic score. Pope Francis warned that data-based systems can reproduce social prejudices and reduce a person to past behavior, potentially denying that person the opportunity to change and contribute. Governance should therefore protect people from decisions that treat them merely as data points or instruments.
This standard applies across the technology’s life cycle: its purpose, design, deployment, and effects. Antiqua et Nova says that both the ends and means of an AI application, as well as the vision it embodies, must be evaluated for their respect for dignity and contribution to the common good. Human judgment remains essential in directing technology toward the authentic good of persons.
That does not mean rejecting technological innovation. AI and other technologies can help serve humanity, but their capabilities should not be confused with human intelligence or moral responsibility. Pope Francis cautioned that describing machines as “intelligent” can obscure their limitations and encourage people to adapt themselves to technology rather than humanize it.
The common good is broader than aggregate efficiency or economic growth. A technology may create benefits while also concentrating wealth, influence, or control, or imposing harms on people who had little say in its development. Pope Francis raised concerns that digital technologies may widen material inequality and unequal access to political and social influence, and called for innovation to go together with greater equality and inclusion.
Accordingly, governance should ask who benefits, who carries the risks, and whether people’s freedom and participation are protected. In particular, AI-driven surveillance is not justified when it exploits people, restricts their freedom, or benefits a few at the expense of many. Antiqua et Nova calls for appropriate oversight, transparency, and public accountability in this area.
The common good also requires attention to relationships and shared responsibility, not just individual consumer choice. Pope Leo XIV describes a role for public institutions, businesses, intermediary organizations, educators, and citizens in guiding technological change so that it supports integral human development rather than exclusion or domination.
Catholic teaching does not place responsibility solely on governments, companies, or users. It calls for action at the level appropriate to each actor: individuals, families, civil society, corporations, institutions, governments, and international organizations. This is the principle of subsidiarity—responsibilities should be handled at the proper level, while larger institutions address problems that exceed the capacity of smaller communities.
In practice, this points toward several duties:
Because consequences may be difficult to predict at the outset, governance cannot be a one-time approval. Antiqua et Nova calls for evaluating applications in their particular contexts and responding at the appropriate levels of society as their effects become clearer.
A Catholic evaluation of an emerging technology can begin with four questions:
The central principle is that technology should remain a human undertaking, governed by responsibility and directed toward the good of all. Its success is not measured only by what it can do, but by whether it protects the dignity of each person and helps people and communities flourish.