I have not yet read Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence (Magnificent humanitymade public on Monday May 25), but the very fact that he felt the need to write it speaks to the extent to which humanity finds itself at a crossroads, engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the machine. This fight is not that of modernity against conservatism. No, it is part of an ideological battle where triumphant industries seek to steal the most precious of common goods, the faculty of thought and judgment.
Here the battle takes place between the desire of each person to rise spiritually and intellectually and the capture of knowledge learning, and therefore consciousness, by tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Since the episode of the Garden of Eden, individuals had never been confronted with such a dilemma, either the continuation of their inner journey in a world dominated by the spirit of reason, or the pure and simple abandonment of their free will, supplanted by the omnipotence of the machine.
Contrary to what some say, the reluctance displayed in the face of the dazzling progress of new technologies has little to do with the fears of times gone by with the appearance of electricity and new means of transport. We were there in the domain of pure technology, of scientific progress based both on knowledge and reason which in no way called into question the relationship of the individual to himself.
The issues linked to AI are completely different, since the latter not only intends to disrupt economic relationships, but also to interfere in our ways of thinking, where our sensitive relationship with the world is established. In this, artificial intelligence has everything of a new divinity, of a God to whom we will submit so that he can lead us on the paths of a supposedly pure truth.
The new human will no longer frequent temples or churches, he will seek consolation and comfort from a disembodied machine, a sort of disposable bandage which will not cure anything, but will provide relief in the moment.
Already, on many occasions, we delegate to the machine the decision for us. We do it as much to accomplish menial tasks of daily life as to find answers to our existential emotions. This process is now carried out in a direct, automatic manner. We no longer waste time searching within ourselves for the answers to our real problems, we delegate this care to a robot so much so that, little by little, without even necessarily being aware of it, we lose our substance and our consistency.
What is a God if not a superior intelligence that has the answer to everything? But the gods that we have constructed are of human imagination, they are the fruit of our reflection and our understanding, of our relationship to the world, to nature, to our sensitivity, to our fears. Artificial intelligence, for its part, comes from another logic since by presenting itself as the sum of all knowledge ever recorded, it claims to replace the individual in their search for information. She reasons for him. It domesticates the brain. It conditions the individual. It makes him a given, one more. She offers to relieve him of the burden of thinking for himself by providing him with ready-made answers. In doing so, AI denies the greatness of the human being who only exists through their ability to reason and feel; she makes it an empty shell, open to all possible manipulations.
Also, the transformation brought about by artificial intelligence will be total, exclusive, radical. The latter, if we are not careful and do not urgently establish restrictive safeguards, will sit at the very heart of our consciences; it will be the epicenter, the supreme authority which will, inevitably, end up supplanting our former self. The particularities of each person will be erased to be replaced by a single thought dictated by a handful of operators whose ultimate goal is not to spread happiness on Earth, but to infinitely increase their personal fortune.
The new gods of tech are not philosophers or intellectuals, even less poets, but men of industry. Their desire is not to elevate human beings in their quest for dignity and transcendence, but to reduce them to a simple consumer obsessed with the idea of output. The new human will no longer frequent temples or churches, he will seek consolation and comfort from a disembodied machine, a sort of disposable bandage which will not cure anything, but will provide relief in the moment.
In fact, humanity will come to confuse being with appearance, believing with wanting, the appearance of knowledge with true knowledge which cannot be the synthesis of already existing information, but results from the slow and painstaking effort of thought turned towards itself. Creation is always an effort of the self seeking to get as close as possible to its most hidden intimacy. Therein lies the main danger of artificial intelligence, the dispossession of human beings and their replacement for purely mercantile purposes.
Or to summarize, artificial intelligence has all the attractions of a new golden calf. It’s hardly surprising that the Pope is starting to break out in a cold sweat about it!
