Pope Leo calls for government action to protect children and workers from AI
This is the fourth of a series of columns by the author on Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” This piece focuses on Chapter 4. For earlier columns, see Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 .
(RNS) — After using Catholic social teaching to examine digital technology in Chapter 3 of his encyclical, “ Magnifica Humanitas ,” Pope Leo in Chapter 4 analyzes the impact of this technology on truth and democracy, children and education, workers and freedom.
Like many of us, Leo worries the tools of the digital age “that could foster dialogue and participation are often used to construct distorted narratives and blur the boundaries between truth and falsehood, mixing facts with opinions.”
He warns that those who command powerful technological and economic resources can control what others accept as true, which is especially important in a democracy. We see that already in social media and in commercial and political advertising.
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In public discourse, Leo believes the truth of facts requires verification, cross-checking of sources and responsible argumentation, which is one…
