Pope Leo XIV’s appeal to Catholic lawmakers comes at a moment when artificial intelligence is quietly becoming part of everyday life. It influences the news people encounter, the products they buy, the work they perform and even the way they understand the world. The question is no longer whether society will use this technology, but whether it will use it wisely.
Speaking to the International Catholic Legislators Network, Pope Leo insisted that technological progress must serve the human person. The world, he said, does not need artificial intelligence that diminishes humanity. It needs human intelligence enlightened by wisdom, political authority guided by conscience and innovation directed by charity.
This responsibility clearly belongs to lawmakers. Strong legislation is needed to protect privacy, prevent exploitation, defend workers and make powerful technology companies accountable. No society should allow algorithms to decide who is heard, who is ignored or who receives opportunities without some form of public oversight. Poorer countries must also be protected from becoming dependent on technologies controlled by wealthier nations and corporations.
But responsibility does not end with governments. Every person who uses these tools also makes choices that shape the digital world. We should ask simple but important questions. Is this service using personal information responsibly? Is it honest about how content is produced? Does it respect the work of writers, artists, teachers and other professionals? Is it helping people think and create, or encouraging them to surrender their judgment?
These are not merely technical questions. They concern the kind of people we are becoming.
Civilisations often change their dreams before they change their laws. Technology does more than provide information. It shapes what people notice, desire and imagine. If algorithms constantly select the stories we read and the images we see, they may gradually determine which futures we consider possible.
Scripture warns that “where there is no vision, the people perish” [Proverbs 29:18]. Yet vision itself can be distorted. The modern Tower of Babel is the belief that efficiency, prediction and control can solve every human problem. They cannot replace wisdom, compassion, friendship or grace.
The family therefore has a special place in Pope Leo’s message. It is within family life that people first learn trust, generosity, patience and responsibility. Parents, schools and parishes should help young people use new technologies without becoming controlled by them. Children need spaces for conversation, prayer, reading, play and friendship that are not constantly interrupted by screens.
Artificial intelligence can support education, creativity, medicine and communication. It can help people accomplish worthwhile things. But it should never be treated as an unquestionable authority or a substitute for human relationships.
“The Spirit blows where it wills” [John 3:8]. Human life will always contain mystery, freedom and possibilities that no machine can calculate. Pope Leo’s challenge is therefore both political and personal: lawmakers must govern technology with conscience, while citizens must use it with care. Progress deserves that name only when it helps people become more fully human. Jose, CMF
