Magnificent Humanity!
The Pope warns against a new Tower of Babel
I regard myself as a student of history. And why not? History is interesting, sometimes fun, occasionally agonizing, often enlightening. On rare occasions, one stumbles across peculiar alignments – not necessarily “parallels,” perhaps more coincidences – to suggest time may be bending back on itself.
As in, haven’t we… hasn’t SOMEONE… seen this all before?
Today I wish to talk about artificial intelligence, A.I. And about Pope Leo. I’m intrigued with the thought that Leo (which is how the New York Times refers to him, so I guess I can, too) made the focus of his first encyclical artificial intelligence. My thinking is that if Leo can address the issue, then I can too.
As you may know by now, I’m not a tech guy (“no kidding, Dad!”). I’m not up to speed on A.I. nor am I Roman Catholic, meaning I’m not well versed on big parts of Christianity either. Hence, it took me a while to scan the metaphoric horizon to have something semi-insightful to say about the Pope and A.I., plus something potentially enlightened about our shared future. Now, having done some homework, a few thoughts:
--What does Leo know about AI? Actually, quite a bit. Context. Background. Philosophy. History… that word again. And while Leo has helpful people around him, one needn’t be a computer geek to have relevant thoughts about technology. Phrases from the opening paragraph of a NYT encyclical story: “a major new teaching on safeguarding humanity,” “a forward-looking document,” “a technological age that will profoundly reshape human life”. Hooray for the Pope. Furthermore, for Leo to wait until all relevant A.I. matters are settled is like walking on the other side of the road (Luke 10: 25-37).
--A.I is a tool… like the printing press, like power looms, advancements generating major pushback while altering history’s course. A.I. is not even guaranteed a smooth ascent; progress frequently generates a sawtooth graph. Let’s hope, however, that society can reach general agreement on the fundamentals AND can engage in civil dialogue about our A.I. wants and needs. Oh, about those advancements… the printing press was a catalyst for the reformation. Ironically, the pontiff who first encountered Martin Luther? Pope Leo X. Meanwhile, the pontiff whose encyclical focused on the industrial revolution, when Luddites destroyed power looms? Pope Leo XIII, inspiration for Leo XIV’s papal name.
--Humans, humanity, and the humanities must always be front and center. Not tools, equipment, or technology, all of which are important. A troubling sign, from long before A.I. was all the rage, so to speak. Humanities degrees have decreased in American higher education, college majors having dropped one-third between 2012 and 2024, now 8.4 percent of U.S. bachelor’s degrees. Note: Leo’s encyclical uses the word “dignity” 100 times in a 42,300-word document… the dignity of humans, not data centers.
--Society is sternly cautioned against constructing a new Tower of Babel. Naturally, the Pope would choose a biblical story to carry his message, although there are other analogies: Pandora’s box, Icarus, Prometheus, even Strega Nona’s pasta pot, 1975, published two decades after Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” which Leo quotes. “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us… those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.” I’m all for uprooting the evil! And the overriding message of the Babel story? Thumbs down on hubris and pride and arrogance and profits at the expense of humans.
The greatest gift available through history is the potential for guidance before wandering into an always uncertain future. Thank you, Pope Leo, for giving us a lantern to illuminate our shared journey, a lantern rather than a spotlight, much as we might want one, knowing disruptions are certain, meaning a spotlight might ultimately, inadvertently lead us astray.
Should you wish to read Pope Leo’s Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), you can access the document via “The Holy See Encyclicals Archive for Leo XIV” or listen to it as an audiobook at “Vatican News”. I highly recommend it.
***************
My column, entitled “Showing Up,” is published in the Nora Springs - Rockford Register. I’m also pleased to be part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative… click on the underscored link to see a list of the talented people who make up this innovative approach to journalism. I’m always interested in your feedback and, if you aren’t already a subscriber, I’d be thrilled if you became one. Thanks much! —KM
The business of the wooden shoe used by the Luddites to take out the looms of the industrial Revolution, was also used as a symbol The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) they adopted the wooden shoe as a cultural icon for direct action, not terrorism. The IWW suffered under similar undemocratic tactics when they protested the draft and their leadership were locked up for 20 years. They had also protested the federal government allowing the coal and iron companies to increase their profits while holding down the unions and raising wages. Using the liberties given to the people in the Constitution to protest peacefully, the government took it upon themselves to violate the Constitution they are sworn to protect. It isn't any different in the excesses happening currently and we should throw another "Sabot"(French for the wooden shoe and where we get "Sabotage") into the machinery!
As a qualified old fart, who shares your lack of tech skills, moving slower seems a little more human and not rushing things that could realistically end the human race. I liken this to the development of the typewriter it took around 100 years to nearly become extinct due to the computer keyboard. That slow climb made acceptance of the technology easy to accept and understand! Since then the rapid fire changes and "up grades" with no trailing support every few years simply to make money, complicates everything connected to a computer! This even invades fuel economy on most cars, not to mention the self driving cars and their problems! By the way, I don't think the Luddites were attacking spinning wheels, but certainly attacked the looms with what they had on their feet, wooden shoes! The parallels you mentioned, are clearly there, the Luddites became the modern day terrorists and anti -fascists(?) the Trumpers go on about.