Javier Cercas reflects on Pope Leo XIV's Message for the 2026 World Day of Social Communications, titled “Preserving Human Voices and Faces”. The Pope's message is considered significant for both Catholics and non-Catholics due to its broad political, religious, moral, and economic implications. Cercas notes that current apocalyptic forecasts regarding Artificial Intelligence echo historical fears surrounding major technological revolutions. Historical parallels are drawn to Plato's concerns about writing, which was feared to cause forgetfulness and degrade authentic culture. Similar anxieties were previously voiced when the printing press was invented, with predictions that widespread knowledge would devalue and vulgarize culture.
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Pope Leo XIV issued a message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications titled “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.”1
Spanish writer Javier Cercas praises it as significant for all, addressing political, religious, moral, social, and economic implications.1
The Pope rejects both apocalyptic fears and naive optimism about AI.1
He views AI neither as a panacea nor a diabolical force, but as a tool shaped by human use.1
Cercas notes AI's ambivalent nature requires discernment to embrace opportunities while addressing risks.1
Cercas draws parallels to past innovations like writing, criticized by Plato's King Thamus for eroding memory and culture.1
Similar alarms arose with Gutenberg's printing press, television, internet, and social media, yet they enriched culture without destroying it.1
Examples include Shakespeare and Cervantes thriving post-printing press.1
Technology is not neutral, but humans who design it bear responsibility for its good or evil outcomes.1
AI can produce works like Don Quixote or Mein Kampf, depending on users.1
The Pope warns against treating AI as an omniscient "oracle" or unquestioned friend.1
Leo XIV calls for guiding innovation rather than halting it.1
He proposes a triad: responsibility from creators, regulators, journalists, and citizens; cooperation across sectors; and education for all users.1
This aims to build a just, egalitarian, joyful society.1
Nearly a year after Pope Francis's death, Leo XIV calms stirred waters while maintaining substantive continuity.1
Cercas highlights Leo XIV's courageous, clear, prejudice-free approach to modern issues, like Francis.1
The message underscores the Church's relevance today.1
Pope’s stance on AI reflects Catholic ethical principles
Pope Leo XIV and his predecessor Pope Francis have articulated a stance on artificial intelligence (AI) that consistently anchors technological advancement in Catholic ethical principles, prioritizing human dignity, the common good, solidarity, and integral human development. This position views AI not as an autonomous force but as a human tool that must enhance, rather than undermine, our God-given capacities for reflection, relationship, and moral discernment. Drawing from the Social Doctrine of the Church, their teachings emphasize stewardship of creation (Gen 2:15), warning against risks like bias, power concentration, and erosion of wonder, while calling for ethical governance involving all societal actors.
Catholic ethics places the inviolable dignity of the human person—created in God's image (Gen 1:27)—at the core of all innovation. The Popes insist AI must safeguard this dignity, recognizing humans as co-workers in creation with unique abilities to reflect, choose freely, love unconditionally, and enter authentic relationships.
Human beings are called to be co-workers in the work of creation, not merely passive consumers of content generated by artificial technology. Our dignity lies in our ability to reflect, choose freely, love unconditionally and enter into authentic relationships with others.
Pope Francis highlighted AI's risk of de-humanization, such as in judicial tools that incorporate biases from data (e.g., ethnic origin or minor offenses), potentially denying human capacity for change and surprise—qualities machines cannot grasp. Similarly, Pope Leo XIV warns of an "eclipse of the sense of what is human," urging evaluation of AI's impacts on openness to truth, beauty, and contemplation. The Dicasteries' note Antiqua et Nova roots this in tradition: intelligence reflects divine imaging, demanding responsible use for stewardship.
This aligns with Gaudium et Spes (par. 26), where human activity must foster balanced growth, not algorithmic determinism.
Repeatedly described as "above all else a tool," AI derives its ethical force from human intentions. Popes Francis and Leo XIV stress it must serve the common good, not private profit or power accumulation—a direct application of Catholic social teaching on justice and fraternity (cf. Fratelli Tutti, pars. 212-213).
How can we ensure that the development of artificial intelligence truly serves the common good, and is not just used to accumulate wealth and power in the hands of a few?
Positive potentials include democratizing knowledge, advancing research, and relieving drudgery, but only if guided by values like inclusion, transparency, equity, and privacy. Pope Leo XIV echoes this in forums like Builders AI, calling AI development a "participation in the divine act of creation" when reflecting justice, solidarity, and reverence for life—embodying faith-reason dialogue. Misuse, however, fosters inequality or conflict, contradicting the "culture of encounter."
The Popes address AI's anthropological challenges: erosion of critical thinking, discernment, and relationships; algorithmic manipulation; and threats to youth's maturity. Children are vulnerable to preference-shaping algorithms, demanding parental tools and education. Access to data ≠ intelligence, which involves openness to ultimate questions and the True/Good.
Artificial intelligence... raises serious concerns about its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, and capacity for wonder and contemplation.
Bias (algorithmic errors prejudicing groups) and "static memory" (unlike dynamic human memory uniting past-present-future) underscore human superiority in moral action. Pope Francis rejected delegating decisions to machines, preserving free will. Responses include interdisciplinary governance, ethical bodies, and widespread participation prioritizing the humble.
Catholic principles demand subsidiarity and solidarity in AI regulation: politics, business, education, and faith communities must collaborate for "tranquillitas ordinis" (ordered peace). Pope Leo XIV invokes intergenerational formation, ensuring youth integrate truth morally. The Church contributes via documents like Antiqua et Nova, promoting AI for evangelization and human flourishing.
No divergences exist among sources; recent magisterial texts (2024-2025) build cohesively on prior ones (e.g., 2019 addresses), with papal authority paramount.
In summary, the Popes' stance exemplifies Catholic ethics by subordinating AI to human dignity and common good, balancing promise with peril through prudent stewardship. This fosters hope: technology humanized serves God's design for relational intelligence guided by love.