A call for the protection of human dignity in the age of AI

On July 29, some 120,000 people, according to the Holy See, attended the first Mass celebrated by the Vatican for Catholic influencers in St. Peter's Square, after which Pope Leo XIV made a surprise appearance before blessing the faithful aboard the popemobile.

This celebration, during which Pope Leo XIV called for the protection of human “dignity” in the digital world while facing the “challenge” of AI, coincides with a time when the Catholic Church is trying to promote its message through online platforms, amid declining church attendance.

“ Nothing that comes from man and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others,” Leo XIV told young Catholics influential on social media, calling on the world to protect “our ability to listen and speak” in the “new era” of artificial intelligence.

“We live today in a new culture, profoundly shaped and shaped by and with technology. It is our responsibility, yours, to ensure that this culture remains human,” the Supreme Pontiff said.

In his message, the Pope continued: “Today, in a culture where the digital dimension is omnipresent, in an era in which the birth of artificial intelligence marks a new geography in the lives of individuals and of all society, this is the challenge we must face, reflecting (...) on our capacity to listen and speak, to understand and be understood.”

It is worth noting that in June, Leo XIV had already warned about the possible consequences of artificial intelligence on the intellectual development of young people.

“We are all concerned about the fate of children and young people, and about the possible consequences of the use of artificial intelligence on their intellectual and neurological development,” the Pope warned in a message to participants at the second annual Rome Conference on AI.

“No generation has had such rapid access to the amount of information now available thanks to artificial intelligence. But, again, access to data, however vast, must not be confused with intelligence,” Pope Leo XIV added at the time.