Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, continues to provoke reflective commentary from multiple perspectives. A recent article, Magnifica Humanitas: Beyond the “Planet of the Apes” syndrome, by Joseph Borg on the Global Catholic website concludes that “Magnifica Humanitas is therefore not a lament but a summons. It calls humanity to engage AI without fear or naïveté, guided by an anthropology that safeguards dignity and nourishes hope.”

Borg recalls that the Planet of the Apes series posited that in a post-apocalyptic world intelligent apes came to dominate humanity and compares that to the widespread fear that Artificial Intelligence (AI) may dominate humanity. In Australia, the recent surge of interest in construction of data centres intended to support the surge in AI use has highlighted the potential risks from excessive consumption of electric energy and water. More immediately it seems the demand for workers to construct AI data centres may pose challenges for construction of much needed housing.

Pope Leo argues that AI is not morally neutral but is designed with assumptions that influence how we view the world and make choices in our lives. The real danger is not that AI will dominate us but that we will be shaped by it in our relationship with each other. The Pope argues that we can resist that danger by drawing on the Christian vision of the person.

It is a short article but worth reading for its insights.