In calling for regulation of the digital revolution, and foregrounding human dignity, the pontiff has contributed to a crucial ethical debate
When the present pope adopted his regnal name, he explained the choice by reference to a 19th-century predecessor who used the papacy to address the great social question of his time. In the 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum (Of New Things), Pope Leo XIII analysed the social forces unleashed by the Industrial Revolution, and outlined principles for a just settlement between the forces of capital and labour. Leo XIV hopes to do something similar in relation to the accelerating digital upheaval of our own age.
As anxiety grows over big tech’s impact on how we work and live, such ambition should be applauded. The early fruits of the pope’s work were presented in the Vatican on Monday after the publication of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity). In 42,000 or so words the document itemises the daunting challenges posed by developments in artificial intelligence, and urges political leaders to safeguard human dignity as new technologies emerge at a pace which is outstripping ethical regulation and control.
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