The Vatican on AI ✝️🤖 - 38 quotes
The appearance of AI on the world stage, calls for a renewed appreciation of all that is human.
I stumbled on this “vaticans take on AI“ - in form of the ANTIQUA ET NOVA - Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence.
It trended on HN where it was surprisingly well received there.
I figured many of my friends would rather read a couple of quotes, rather than the whole thing 😏. That’s why cherry picked a series of quotes.
Cherry picking motivation
Myself engaging with LLMs daily, i know how handy they are but giving this tech it’s proper conceptual place in the grander scheme of things is something i find myself again and arguing about with friends. (stochastic parrot vs singularity projections )
My interest reading the document was a confirmation and better articulation of “my fuzzy belief in the fundamental superiority of the living over the artificial. The superiority of the not fully pre-determined (having some degree of choice) over the fully pre-determined (e.g. a software program like a LLM)”.
I found the whole ANTIQUA ET NOVA not only a voice of reason but a voice, that i really value, for emphasizing and through contrast with AI-technology highlighting, that which makes us human - which is so elusive, yet central and on an pandemic level buried in the noise and numbness - a kind of flatland as Ken Wilber calls it.
38 Quotes that spoke to me
The quotes are in the chronological order as they appear in the source. I tried to slice them so they read well in chronological order.
An Integral Understanding of Human Intelligence
[…] the Christian tradition has come to understand the human person as a being consisting of both body and soul—deeply connected to this world and yet transcending it.[17]
17. Although deeply rooted in bodily existence, the human person transcends the material world through the soul, which is “almost on the horizon of eternity and time.”[26] The intellect's capacity for transcendence and the self-possessed freedom of the will belong to the soul, by which the human person “shares in the light of the divine mind.”[27] […]
[…] Although Truth in itself transcends the boundaries of human intelligence, it irresistibly attracts it.[38] Drawn by this attraction, the human person is led to seek “truths of a higher order.”[39]
26. In this context, human intelligence becomes more clearly understood as a faculty that forms an integral part of how the whole person engages with reality. Authentic engagement requires embracing the full scope of one’s being: spiritual, cognitive, embodied, and relational.
[…] As the twentieth-century French poet Paul Claudel expressed, “intelligence is nothing without delight.”[60] […] Similarly, Dante, upon reaching the highest heaven in Paradiso, testifies that the culmination of this intellectual delight is found in the “light intellectual full of love, love of true good filled with joy, joy which transcends every sweetness.”[61]
29. A proper understanding of human intelligence, therefore, cannot be reduced to the mere acquisition of facts or the ability to perform specific tasks.
The Limits of AI
[…] although AI can simulate aspects of human reasoning and perform specific tasks with incredible speed and efficiency, its computational abilities represent only a fraction of the broader capacities of the human mind. For instance, AI cannot currently replicate moral discernment or the ability to establish authentic relationships. […] Since AI cannot offer this fullness of understanding, approaches that rely solely on this technology or treat it as the primary means of interpreting the world can lead to “a loss of appreciation for the whole, for the relationships between things, and for the broader horizon.”[65]
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.
Drawing an overly close equivalence between human intelligence and AI risks succumbing to a functionalist perspective, where people are valued based on the work they can perform.
[…] In light of this, AI should not be seen as an artificial form of human intelligence but as a product of it.[70]
Likewise, between a machine and a human, only the human can be sufficiently self-aware to the point of listening and following the voice of conscience, discerning with prudence, and seeking the good that is possible in every situation.
40. Like any product of human creativity, AI can be directed toward positive or negative ends.[85] When used in ways that respect human dignity and promote the well-being of individuals and communities, it can contribute positively to the human vocation. […]
AI and Society
However, while AI holds many possibilities for promoting the good, it can also hinder or even counter human development and the common good. Pope Francis has noted that “evidence to date suggests that digital technologies have increased inequality in our world. […] AI could be used to perpetuate marginalization and discrimination, create new forms of poverty, widen the “digital divide,” and worsen existing social inequalities.[104]
[…] the concentration of the power over mainstream AI applications in the hands of a few powerful companies raises significant ethical concerns.
54. Furthermore, there is the risk of AI being used to promote what Pope Francis has called the “technocratic paradigm,” which perceives all the world’s problems as solvable through technological means alone.[106] In this paradigm, human dignity and fraternity are often set aside in the name of efficiency, “as if reality, goodness, and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as such.”[107][…] AI should be put “at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral.”[110]
55. Achieving this objective requires a deeper reflection on the relationship between autonomy and responsibility. Greater autonomy heightens each person’s responsibility across various aspects of communal life.
AI and Human Relationships
58. It is in this context that one can consider the challenges AI poses to human relationships. Like other technological tools, AI has the potential to foster connections within the human family. However, it could also hinder a true encounter with reality and, ultimately, lead people to “a deep and melancholic dissatisfaction with interpersonal relations, or a harmful sense of isolation.”[117] Authentic human relationships require the richness of being with others in their pain, their pleas, and their joy.[118] Since human intelligence is expressed and enriched also in interpersonal and embodied ways, authentic and spontaneous encounters with others are indispensable for engaging with reality in its fullness.
60. Anthropomorphizing AI also poses specific challenges for the development of children, potentially encouraging them to develop patterns of interaction that treat human relationships in a transactional manner, as one would relate to a chatbot. Such habits could lead young people to see teachers as mere dispensers of information rather than as mentors who guide and nurture their intellectual and moral growth. […]
True empathy requires the ability to listen, recognize another’s irreducible uniqueness, welcome their otherness, and grasp the meaning behind even their silences.[121] Unlike the realm of analytical judgment in which AI excels, true empathy belongs to the relational sphere. It involves intuiting and apprehending the lived experiences of another while maintaining the distinction between self and other.[122] While AI can simulate empathetic responses, it cannot replicate the eminently personal and relational nature of authentic empathy.[123]
62. In light of the above, it is clear why misrepresenting AI as a person should always be avoided; doing so for fraudulent purposes is a grave ethical violation that could erode social trust.
If AI is used to help people foster genuine connections between people, it can contribute positively to the full realization of the person. Conversely, if we replace relationships with God and with others with interactions with technology, we risk replacing authentic relationality with a lifeless image (cf. Ps. 106:20; Rom. 1:22-23). Instead of retreating into artificial worlds, we are called to engage in a committed and intentional way with reality, especially by identifying with the poor and suffering, consoling those in sorrow, and forging bonds of communion with all.
AI, the Economy, and Labor
69. It is important to remember that “the order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around.”[129] Human work must not only be at the service of profit but at “the service of the whole human person […] taking into account the person’s material needs and the requirements of his or her intellectual, moral, spiritual, and religious life.”[130] In this context, the Church recognizes that work is “not only a means of earning one’s daily bread” but is also “an essential dimension of social life” and “a means […] of personal growth, the building of healthy relationships, self-expression and the exchange of gifts. Work gives us a sense of shared responsibility for the development of the world, and ultimately, for our life as a people.”[131]
70. Since work is a “part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfillment,” “the goal should not be that technological progress increasingly replaces human work, for this would be detrimental to humanity”[132]—rather, it should promote human labor. Seen in this light, AI should assist, not replace, human judgment. Similarly, it must never degrade creativity or reduce workers to mere “cogs in a machine.” Therefore, “respect for the dignity of laborers and the importance of employment for the economic well-being of individuals, families, and societies, for job security and just wages, ought to be a high priority for the international community as these forms of technology penetrate more deeply into our workplaces.”[133]
AI and Healthcare
72. Seen in this light, AI seems to hold immense potential in a variety of applications in the medical field, such as assisting the diagnostic work of healthcare providers, facilitating relationships between patients and medical staff, offering new treatments, and expanding access to quality care also for those who are isolated or marginalized.
73. However, if AI is used not to enhance but to replace the relationship between patients and healthcare providers—leaving patients to interact with a machine rather than a human being—it would reduce a crucially important human relational structure to a centralized, impersonal, and unequal framework. Instead of encouraging solidarity with the sick and suffering, such applications of AI would risk worsening the loneliness that often accompanies illness, especially in the context of a culture where “persons are no longer seen as a paramount value to be cared for and respected.”[138] […]
AI, Misinformation, Deepfakes, and Abuse
85. AI could be used as an aid to human dignity if it helps people understand complex concepts or directs them to sound resources that support their search for the truth.[158]
[…] misinformation might occur unintentionally, as in the case of AI “hallucination,” where a generative AI system yields results that appear real but are not. Since generating content that mimics human artifacts is central to AI’s functionality, mitigating these risks proves challenging. Yet, the consequences of such aberrations and false information can be quite grave. For this reason, all those involved in producing and using AI systems should be committed to the truthfulness and accuracy of the information processed by such systems and disseminated to the public.
88. On a broader scale, by distorting “our relationship with others and with reality,”[160] AI-generated fake media can gradually undermine the foundations of society. […]
AI and Education
77. The words of the Second Vatican Council remain fully relevant today: “True education strives to form individuals with a view toward their final end and the good of the society to which they belong.”[143] As such, education is “never a mere process of passing on facts and intellectual skills: rather, its aim is to contribute to the person’s holistic formation in its various aspects (intellectual, cultural, spiritual, etc.), including, for example, community life and relations within the academic community,”[144] in keeping with the nature and dignity of the human person.
AI and the Protection of Our Common Home
97. Even then, as Pope Francis teaches, it is essential “that we look for solutions not only in technology but in a change of humanity.”[175] A complete and authentic understanding of creation recognizes that the value of all created things cannot be reduced to their mere utility. Therefore, a fully human approach to the stewardship of the earth rejects the distorted anthropocentrism of the technocratic paradigm, which seeks to “extract everything possible” from the world, [176] and rejects the “myth of progress,” which assumes that “ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the application of new technology and without any need for ethical considerations or deep change.”[177] Such a mindset must give way to a more holistic approach that respects the order of creation and promotes the integral good of the human person while safeguarding our common home. [178]
AI and Warfare
Pope Francis has observed that “the ability to conduct military operations through remote control systems has led to a lessened perception of the devastation caused by those weapon systems and the burden of responsibility for their use, resulting in an even more cold and detached approach to the immense tragedy of war.”[182]
AI and Our Relationship with God
[…] 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 speculate that AGI could achieve superhuman capabilities. At the same time, as society drifts away from a connection with the transcendent, some are tempted to turn to AI in search of meaning or fulfillment—longings that can only be truly satisfied in communion with God.[194]
[…] Yet, it is vital to remember that AI is but a pale reflection of humanity—it is crafted by human minds, trained on human-generated material, responsive to human input, and sustained through human labor. AI cannot possess many of the capabilities specific to human life, and it is also fallible. By turning to AI as a perceived “Other” greater than itself, with which to share existence and responsibilities, humanity risks creating a substitute for God. […]
107. In contrast, human beings, “by their interior life, transcend the entire material universe; they experience this deep interiority when they enter into their own heart, where God, who probes the heart, awaits them, and where they decide their own destiny in the sight of God.”[196] It is within the heart, as Pope Francis reminds us, that each individual discovers the “mysterious connection between self-knowledge and openness to others, between the encounter with one’s personal uniqueness and the willingness to give oneself to others.”[197]
Concluding Reflections
[…] The twentieth-century philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev observed that people often blame machines for personal and social problems; however, “this only humiliates man and does not correspond to his dignity,” for “it is unworthy to transfer responsibility from man to a machine.”[203] Only the human person can be morally responsible, and the challenges of a technological society are ultimately spiritual in nature. Therefore, facing those challenges “demands an intensification of spirituality.”[204]
112. A further point to consider is the call, prompted by the appearance of AI on the world stage, for a renewed appreciation of all that is human. Years ago, the French Catholic author Georges Bernanos warned that “the danger is not in the multiplication of machines, but in the ever-increasing number of men accustomed from their childhood to desire only what machines can give.”[205] This challenge is as true today as it was then, as the rapid pace of digitization risks a “digital reductionism,” where non-quantifiable aspects of life are set aside and then forgotten or even deemed irrelevant because they cannot be computed in formal terms. […]
113. The vast expanse of the world’s knowledge is now accessible in ways that would have filled past generations with awe. However, to ensure that advancements in knowledge do not become humanly or spiritually barren, one must go beyond the mere accumulation of data and strive to achieve true wisdom.[208]
116. Since a “person’s perfection is measured not by the information or knowledge they possess, but by the depth of their charity,”[212] how we incorporate AI “to include the least of our brothers and sisters, the vulnerable, and those most in need, will be the true measure of our humanity.”[213] […]
Closing thoughts
OpenAI seems to have rather abused the topic “alignment“ to attempt regularly capture, to stengten it’s closed AI monopoly. ANTIQUA ET NOVA is the kind of AI alignment talk that i want to see / have instead.
I:
find it funny how little time the document spent’s on the grand fears of rough AI super intelligence - grounded in humanity it’s just less of a concern. 🤷
like how the document does not condemn AI and acknowledges it’s potential in a sober way - clearly highlighting the critical element of human choice, actual human maturity and embodied human wisdom that is being called for to responsibly wield the tools we humans wield and forge.
get some joy from not the catholic, but the spiritual and the technological being brought in contact in a meaningful way.