Weekly Word

Artificial Intelligence has invaded our lives bringing both boundless opportunities and unprecedented challenges.

We cannot ignore it. Last month, Pope Leo XIV addressed artificial intelligence as the defining moral and social challenge of the twenty-first century in his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (‘Magnificent Humanity’).

Last week I attended a dialogue in the European Parliament in Brussels on ‘Health and well-being in the age of artificial intelligence’ – on how to ensure AI would be governed by human-centred values for the common good.

This dialogue is part of a series of such events, mandated by Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty, which requires regular, open and transparent dialogue between between religious and philosophical movements, and representatives of the EU institutions (European Commission, European Council and European Parliament). I have written about my enthusiasm for these events before which offer a platform for Christian voices among others to influence EU policies.

Despite the wide range of movements and worldviews represented – Christian and Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist, Free Thinkers and Humanists – a strong consensus emerged for the need for values-based regulation of artificial intelligence.

Once more, I listened gratefully to biblical concepts being uncompromisingly stated in the Parliament building, including that human dignity derived solely from the understanding of humanity as created in God’s image.

Several speakers referred to the pope’s clear and timely encyclical which on the one hand recognises the immense benefits AI can bring in medicine, education, communication, scientific discovery, and economic productivity; yet on the other warns that human dignity must be defended against systems that reduce people to data, efficiency, profit or algorithmic control.

The pope affirms human creativity and scientific ingenuity as gifts that can contribute to the common good. Yet he insists that technology must remain a servant of humanity, never its master.

Humanity faces the temptation of ‘the idolatry of technology’, he argues, the belief that technological power alone can secure human fulfilment and salvation, meaning and morality, or transcendence. Human beings possess a sacred dignity rooted not in productivity or intelligence, but in being created in the image of God.  

Transhumanism

Participants in the Brussels dialogue echoed the pope’s call for ethical governance of AI through international cooperation, democratic oversight, transparency, accountability and moral reflection. AI systems increasingly shape economies, public opinion, employment, security and even personal relationships, yet their operation often remains hidden from democratic scrutiny. This imbalance of power risks creating new forms of dependency, manipulation, inequality and ‘digital colonialism’.  

Pope Leo critiques the ideology of transhumanism sometimes associated with Silicon Valley. Human limitations, vulnerability, mortality and dependence are not defects to be engineered away. Rather, he argues, they are part of what makes people human and capable of love, compassion, solidarity, and spiritual growth. He warns against visions of society in which human beings are treated merely as upgradeable biological machines or where human identity becomes subordinate to technological systems. The pope insists that intelligence is more than computation; it includes conscience, moral responsibility, wisdom, relationality and openness to God.  

AI also need to be ‘disarmed’, writes the pope, meaning detached from systems of domination, militarisation and geopolitical competition. He suggests that traditional ‘just war’ theory may no longer adequately address the destructive potential of modern technologies.  

Humanity faced a choice of direction, he warns – the road towards the Tower of Babel, a humanity without God, leading to uniformity and dehumanisation, profit before people, humans reduced to mere data, loss of human dignity; or towards Jerusalem with God at the centre, diversity as a source of richness, the way of brotherhood and collaboration, inclusion and shared responsibility. 

Groningen

Two days after my visit to Brussels I found myself in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, at a seemingly unrelated event celebrating the founding of a monastic community six centuries ago (see photo). From their mother community in Windesheim near Zwolle, the Brothers of the Common Life spread out across the Low Countries and beyond into northern Europe, establishing communities based on biblical values. . 

I had not expected to discover a link here with the topic of values and AI. My task at this meeting was to link the movement’s influence to the modern European values, including human dignity, education, freedom of conscience, social responsibility, active  citizenship, respect for knowledge and peaceful cooperation.

What I had not fully grasped prior to arriving in Groningen was that my introduction was to lead into a discussion about the need for these ancient values in the face of growing AI presence. For the Netherlands is establishing its first national AI Factory in Groningen, backed by a €200 million investment from the EU, the Dutch government, and regional funds. The factory aims to boost regional innovation while reducing the country’s technological reliance on the US and China.

Even in the far-flung corners of the Netherlands, the challenges of AI cannot be ignored.

 

Till next week,