Magnificent

I wrote about AI last week for the first time in a while. I know that this isn’t necessarily how providence works, but on Monday, May 25th, Pope Leo XIV published a massive encyclical entitled, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.” Already, I love it. Magnificent Humanity. That’s one heck of a title.

I’ve only started reading it, but it is proving to be a wonderfully incisive piece of writing that I look forward to exploring further.

I appreciate how it chooses to engage with this emerging technology – not as an evil to be fought, but as a tool to be wielded. With that framework in mind, it outlines what sort of outcome ought to be pursued: “New technologies open up a horizon extending in directions that are imaginable but not yet fully predictable. This complicates the assessment of their potential impact and the long-term effects they may have on both the dignity of individuals and the common good.”

This is the whole ball-game here. What should the goal be for our technological and social advances? Human dignity and common good.

He then outlines a biblical illustration of two possible paths we might follow:

The story of Babel appears in the Book of Genesis, at the origins of humanity, immediately after the genealogies of Noah’s sons. After settling in a plain in the land of Shinar, the people decided to build a city and a tower “with its top in the heavens” (Gen 11:4). Fearing being scattered across the earth, they sought to guarantee stability and power for themselves, and above all to “make a name” for themselves. It was an impressive feat: a single language, a single technology, a single direction. However, the project concealed a profound danger. It was a project conceived without reference to God, supported by a uniformity that eliminated diversity and that chose homogenization over communion. When a city is built on pride and the claim to self-sufficiency, communication breaks down, languages are confused and people no longer understand each other. The result is not unity, but dispersion. Babel thus reveals the limits of any effort that, however grandiose, arises from self-affirmation, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God’s blessing.

Or

After the Babylonian exile, a portion of the people returned to Jerusalem, but the city was still in ruins, the walls collapsed and the gates burned (cf. Neh 1–2). Nehemiah, a Jew in the service of the Persian King Artaxerxes, received news of the disastrous state of his ancestral city. Before taking action, he fasted, prayed and interceded for the people. He then asked the king for permission to return to Jerusalem and, upon arriving, examined the destroyed areas in silence.  He did not impose solutions from above. He convened the families, assigned each of them a section of the wall to rebuild, listened to their concerns, coordinated their efforts and addressed any opposition. The narrative shows how the city is reborn, not through the initiative of one man, but through the shared responsibility of all: men, women, priests, artisans, heads of households and young people all play a part. It is an undertaking with God at the center, which rebuilds relationships before rebuilding with stones. Thus, ancient Jerusalem rediscovers a common language — not one of uniformity, but one of communion, namely the harmony that arises when all persons assume their own role and recognize that their strength comes from the Lord.

And what is the result?

Rebuilding today means recognizing that, precisely from the plurality of voices and visions which, even though they sometimes remind us of the confusion caused by the diversity of spoken languages, a bright possibility emerges. Indeed, this is the possibility of building together, of transforming diversity into a resource and of making listening and dialogue the common ground upon which to cultivate justice and fraternity.

I’m not done with this encyclical. Stay tuned, because I think there’s a lot here that we need to chew over as a people.

Peace,

Jeff

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As we continue to navigate a world shaped by rapid technological change, perhaps the question is not simply what AI can do, but what kind of people we hope to become. How do we build communities rooted in dignity, compassion, and the common good rather than pride, efficiency, or division? If these are questions you find yourself pondering, we invite you to join us at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church. Come be part of a community that values thoughtful conversation, faithful reflection, and the shared work of building something meaningful together. Visit us at 1200 S. Winton Road in Brighton, NY, call our office anytime at 585-244-8585, or send us an email using our secure contact form to learn more about us.