Pope Leo XIV is taking on artificial intelligence. Like many people facing the development of this new technology, the Pope is wary of AI, advising priests to avoid overrelying on it for writing their sermons and doing their jobs.
According to Vatican News, the Pope asked their priests to resist the “temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence.”
“Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die,” he reportedly said. “The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity.”
The Pope said that AI would never be able to impart the wisdom and faith of a priest. “To give a homily is to share faith,” he said. AI “will never be able to share faith.”
© Getty Images“If we can offer a service that is inculturated in the place, in the parish where we are working, people want to see your faith, your experience of having known and loved Jesus Christ,” he concluded.
The Pope seemed very concerned with technology and the internet, in particular, how it’s impacted the youth in recent years in light of the pandemic and the isolation that many have been exposed to.
“They live a kind of distance from others, a coldness, without knowing the richness, the value of truly human relationships,” he said, referencing smartphones.
The Pope’s comments were made on February 20th, in a dialogue between himself and the clergy of the Diocese of Rome. After delivering his address, the Pope did a question and Q & A session with the priests, addressing some of the topics discussed above.
© AFP via Getty ImagesWhy AI produces such polarizing responses
As AI use has been normalized in the world, the technology has caused a lot of controversy, much more than other significant technological developments that have been adopted by the masses.
“I can’t really remember a boom with such active hostility to it,” said author William Quinn to The New York Times. “People usually find new technology exciting. It happened with electricity, bicycles, motorcars. There were fears but also hopes. AI is notable, perhaps unique, for the lack of enthusiasm.”
The backlash against AI seems to be due to how widespread it is. It’s a technology that’s broad and that has the power to affect all industries, from the person who works in an office to the Pope.
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