By Christina Bagaglio Slentz, Ph.D.
Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” in May.
He reflects on humanity (God’s greatest creation), what good (or integral) human development looks like (the Kingdom of God), and how technology — particularly, the rise of artificial intelligence poses significant risks to human dignity and our collective human capacity to serve as co-creators of God’s Kingdom.
Do you feel this tension with tech in your own life? In your household and human relationships? Do you see AI creeping into the fabric of our social world in a way that gives you pause? How might the gift of creation offer a counterbalance to soften the risks associated with these powerful tools? Moreover, how can we ensure technology serves humanity rather than humanity serving technology?
Not ‘inherently evil,’ but ‘never neutral’
In his encyclical, Pope Leo writes, it is through the framework of integral human development that we can interpret the changes brought forward by the rapidly unfolding digital revolution. He explains, the quality of human flourishing is “measured by the ability to integrate justice toward people and the care of our common home, and to promote dignified living conditions, access to necessary goods, just social relations,
