The Peril of AI

-Michael Sullivan

Pope Francis has released a letter for the Dicastery for Culture and Education entitled “Antiqua et Nova” or Ancient and New, subtitled ‘Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence’. The document was released on January 28th, 2025, and offers an in-depth review of the dangerous societal implications of the new AI technology based on ancient Catholic teachings on the dignity of man. This is a brief summary of the Vatican’s warnings on AI which can be found here.

What is AI?

AI or “Artificial Intelligence” can achieve superhuman mathematical and logical commutations that exceed the capabilities of humans. The stated goal of AI is to ‘imitate the human intelligence that designed it.’ It can be used to solve problems by searching for solutions more rapidly and more efficiently than unaided human thinking.

Catholic understanding of human intelligence emphasizes a holistic approach to the concept learning. Not based solely on the input of data, human learning is centered on the embodiment of the soul in a material body, which forms a union of body and soul, and allows human understanding to take on greater meaning than Artificial Intelligence ever could. The machine learning of AI is disembodied and soulless, and amounts to “performing tasks, achieving goals, or making decisions based on quantitative data and computational logic.” While the AI can achieve superhuman mathematical and logical commutations that exceed the capabilities of humans; the machine-learning of the computer cannot attain “sensory input, emotional responses, social interactions, and the unique context of each moment” that is offered to humanity.

“Since AI lacks the richness of corporeality, relationality, and the openness of the human heart to truth and goodness, its capacities—though seemingly limitless—are incomparable with the human ability to grasp reality. So much can be learned from an illness, an embrace of reconciliation, and even a simple sunset; indeed, many experiences we have as humans open new horizons and offer the possibility of attaining new wisdom. No device, working solely with data, can measure up to these and countless other experiences present in our lives.”

What is the message of this latest statement?

After the Pope explains the limitations of Artificial Intelligence, he warns of the peril of drawing too close of a comparison between Human Intelligence and the AI. If the AI society of the future degrades the dignity of mankind in favor of the extraordinary promise of advanced machine-learning, then the world runs the risk of losing its sense of humanity. The worth of a human being does not depend on the work that they can perform, or “on possessing specific skills, cognitive and technological achievements, or individual success, but on the person’s inherent dignity, grounded in being created in the image of God.” The pope said that “in light of this, AI should not be seen as an artificial form of human intelligence but as a product of it.” The human person must not be subjected to the demands of machines and should not be penalized for failing to compete with the efficiency of AI.

If the goal is to replace human workers with AI, then it would be detrimental to society and result in increased inequality with more and more power concentrated in the hands of a tiny few that control the technology.

Is the Catholic Church against AI?

While the Church ‘encourages the advancement of science, technology, the arts, and other forms of human endeavor’, the Pope felt responsible to write something that “addresses the anthropological and ethical challenges raised by AI.” The product of Artificial Intelligence must then be judged solely based off the good that it does for humanity and not off the technological achievements it can produce. The guiding principle of any human endeavor must be to “emphasize the importance of moral responsibility grounded in the dignity and vocation of the human person.” Which means that Catholic doctrine has always promoted the dignity of human work since work is a “part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfillment”.

Can AI replace teachers?

AI can help assist teachers in their role as educators, but the teacher is not only responsible for ‘filling one’s heads with ideas. That is the way we educate automatons, cerebral minds, not people. Educating is taking a risk in the tension between the mind, the heart, and the hands.”

The relationship between a teacher and student cannot be replicated by AI because it lacks the ‘essential human qualities’ that a teacher offers, and although the AI can feed the student more information it cannot ‘inspire the joy of discovery.’

It is more important than ever for the youth to have human bonds in an era of ‘iPad babies’ and screen addiction. The detriment that addiction to technology will cause in the next generations is still unknown.

What are “deepfakes”?

Another concern about the future AI society is the impact that this new technology might have on our perception of reality. In the age of the smartphone, much of our information is digested through the computer screen. Since the American public is now accustomed to receiving news through their screens, the danger is that false information produced by AI will be used to manipulate the people and gradually undermine the fountains of society.

‘Deepfakes’ are AI manipulated audio recordings, pictures, and videos that are almost indistinguishable from real audio recordings, pictures, and videos. If irresponsible actors use AI ‘deepfake’ technology to “intentionally generate and spread false content with the aim to deceive or cause harm”, then people will become indifferent to the truth because they will not be able to confidently discern what the truth is and our very understanding of real life may be altered.

“When society becomes indifferent to the truth, various groups construct their own versions of “facts,” weakening the “reciprocal ties and mutual dependencies” that underpin the fabric of social life. As deepfakes cause people to question everything and AI-generated false content erodes trust in what they see and hear, polarization and conflict will only grow. Such widespread deception is no trivial matter; it strikes at the core of humanity, dismantling the foundational trust on which societies are built.”

Does AI threaten privacy?

AI’s surveillance capabilities threaten to eliminate personal privacy. Our phones have become extensions of ourselves, and the “data each person generates in the digital world can be seen as an objectified expression of this relational nature.” If individual’s personal data is not protected than the knowledge of someone’s digit footprint “can amount to power over the individual.” The Pope reminds us that the “Second Vatican Council included the right “to safeguard privacy” among the fundamental rights “necessary for living a genuinely human life.”

AI may allow private corporations or the government to have unlimited access to the sensitive digitized data that is collected on each smart device making it possible “to infer patterns in a person’s behavior and thinking from even a small amount of information”. AI should not be used to evaluate each individual’s propensity to behave properly in society based on their private searches or past behavior, known as ‘social scoring,’ because a “person’s past behavior should not be used to deny him or her the opportunity to change, grow, and contribute to society. We cannot allow algorithms to limit or condition respect for human dignity, or to exclude compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and above all, the hope that people are able to change.”

How should we react to the potential of AI to remake the world?

Leading AI researchers have warned that such technology poses an ‘existential risk’ to humanity and “could threaten the survival of entire regions or even of humanity itself.” AI technology cannot be disengaged from the moral responsibility of its creators and users. The moral agency depends on the human element since only humanity can truly comprehend good vs evil based on our spiritual connection to God and our neighbors. Already, AI systems have been developed for warfare and is capable of “identifying and striking targets without direct human intervention”, which can easily lead to an “even more cold and detached approach to the immense tragedy of war.” Removing the “unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making” can result in grave ethical concern.

Saint John Paul II observed that “humanity now has instruments of unprecedented power: we can turn this world into a garden or reduce it to a pile of rubble.” Given this fact, the Church reminds us, in the words of Pope Francis, that “we are free to apply our intelligence towards things evolving positively,” or toward “decadence and mutual destruction.” The warning of the Pope on the danger of AI technology should be heralded by all in the AI industry and taken seriously by world leaders. If AI is used properly, it can help improve the welfare of the entire world, and help promote global justice and peace, but if it is used improperly, it can be the cause of world annihilation.

Without a serious discussion on the risks of AI technology, the world could sleepwalk into tragedy. The pope notes that ‘within some circles of scientists and futurists, there is optimism about the potential of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a hypothetical form of AI that would match or surpass human intelligence and bring about unimaginable advancements.’ Some even believe that this new technology will extend the human life, making even death a thing of the past, and are substituting the AI for God. Unlike the idols of the past that ‘have mouths but do not speak; eyes, but do not see; ears, but do not hear” (Ps. 115:5-6), AI can “speak,” or at least gives the illusion of doing so.’

What is the conclusion to be drawn from the Pope’s message about AI?

The Pope concludes with warning of giving undue worth to the technology made by human hands and reminds the world that only through the interior life and the human heart can humanity attain an undying life.. The dreams of the futurist will be snuffed out by the reality of God and the real presence of death, but as the technocrats and futurists close their hearts to God in their vain attempt to create an AI superbeing, religious people must remain vigilant and guard their hearts for God alone.