THE strong and clear challenge posed by Pope Leo XIV in his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity),” is declaring the sacred value of every human life. It’s a strong statement of moral value that asserts the dignity and rights of every person. It comes at a time when people, especially women and children, are being deprived of their humanity and treated as objects to be exploited and abused, their rights eroded or denied. Human lives are damaged almost beyond repair by a new kind of tyrant. Not the human one that maims and kills, but a powerful, electronic one that has begun invading the mobile phones — and by extension, the hearts and minds — of thousands of children and other vulnerable people. It is called artificial intelligence (AI).
AI can be a great tool for education, research, programming machines, and computers, but it’s also a dangerous one that can be used to harm, exploit and oppress people. In the hands of unscrupulous tycoons and pedophiles, it can be abused for mass digital manipulation and exploitation, and for making child-abuse materials. It can also be used to program drones and other aircraft, as well as lethal weapons in autonomous warfare. Pope Leo makes clear the dangers inherent in AI abuse.
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