Technology has progressed by leaps and bounds over the past 200 years and continues at an ever increasing rate.
St. John Paul II noticed this during the 1970s and wrote about it in his first encyclical as pope, Redemptor Hominis.
He generally welcomed technological progress, but wanted to make sure that technology was used in conjunction with Christian morality and ethics.
The development of technology and the development of contemporary civilization, which is marked by the ascendancy of technology, demand a proportional development of morals and ethics. For the present, this last development seems unfortunately to be always left behind.
St. John Paul II then provided a few criteria that he wanted to be used when we consider the benefits of new technology.
Is life more "human"?
His first criterion for evaluating technology is to consider how it impacts our everyday lives:
Does this progress, which has man for its author and promoter, make human life on earth "more human" in every aspect of that life?
This is important, especially as we evaluate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and our mobile devices, such as smartphones, watches and virtual reality goggles.
We should ask ourselves after using such things, "Do I feel more human?"
Are humans becoming more spiritually mature?
Another important criterion is to consider the state of human beings and if these new technologies are affecting humans in a positive way, helping us to become better human beings:
But the question keeps coming back with regard to what is most essential -whether in the context of this progress man, as man, is becoming truly better, that is to say more mature spiritually, more aware of the dignity of his humanity, more responsible, more open to others, especially the neediest and the weakest, and readier to give and to aid all.
Whenever we use new technology, we should step-back and consider how our spiritual lives are affected.
We should ask, "Am I closer to God? To my neighbor next door? Do I care about the people in my local community?"
Need for objective evaluation
It's easy to become excited about the future and to fully embrace new technology, but we need to be more objective about it, as St. John Paul II explains:
As we observe and take part in these processes we cannot let ourselves be taken over merely by euphoria or be carried away by one-sided enthusiasm for our conquests, but we must all ask ourselves, with absolute honesty, objectivity and a sense of moral responsibility, the essential questions concerning man's situation today and in the future. Do all the conquests attained until now and those projected for the future for technology accord with man's moral and spiritual progress?
Technology can be good for humanity, but at the same time, it is not our savior.
