2025 CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN
Help Aleteia continue its mission by making a tax-deductible donation.
In this way, Aleteia's future will be yours as well.
Have your teens started saying: "Why should I study this if AI is going to replace this (or me) anyway?"
When it comes to Artificial Intelligence, it's the youngest generations whose future it will shape the most.
But in case your teens aren’t aware, Pope Leo XIII has taken on the topic of AI multiple times, providing valuable insights for their lives (and ours!).
Here are just a few pieces of “food for thought” the Pope has given us. They’re worth thinking about and acting on, as teens come of age in a world infused with Artificial Intelligence.
This is just the start, as Pope Leo has already said a lot about AI in just a few months. And he is following up on a rather extensive teaching from Pope Francis and the Vatican itself. You can find more about this at our "artificial intelligence" tab.
1AI is a Tool
It is tempting to see AI as if it is somehow its own entity, something that has authority or its own power. Pope Leo echoes Pope Francis, though, by saying that AI is a tool, meant for use by humans -- a use that can be for good or for ill.
He writes,
By definition, tools point to the human intelligence that crafted them and draw much of their ethical force from the intentions of the individuals that wield them. In some cases, AI has been used in positive and indeed noble ways to promote greater equality, but there is likewise the possibility of its misuse for selfish gain at the expense of others, or worse, to foment conflict and aggression.
It's essential to remember that how you use AI matters. You, and many others across the world, will shape culture by how you choose to use AI.
2Think before you act
Pope Leo often uses the word “discernment” when talking about AI. He explains,
The impact of this (AI) revolution is far-reaching, transforming areas such as education, work, art, healthcare, governance, the military, and communication. This epochal transformation requires responsibility and discernment to ensure that AI is developed and utilized for the common good, building bridges of dialogue and fostering fraternity, and ensuring it serves the interests of humanity as a whole.
In other words, as you move into adulthood and use AI in your job, your relationships, and your community, you should think about how to use it to help others. Helping others, Pope Leo says, in this case specifically means “safeguarding the inviolable dignity of each human person and respecting the cultural and spiritual riches and diversity of the world’s peoples.”
If and how you use AI, he says, must be evaluated according to whether or not you are able to promote the common good in this way.
3Be Authentic
"Being yourself" online has long been a challenge – one that will only become more complicated with the predominance of AI. Pope Leo encourages us, saying,
This is a challenge that we must face: reflecting on the authenticity of our witness, on our ability to listen and speak, and on our capacity to understand and to be understood. We have a duty to work together to develop a way of thinking, to develop a language, of our time, that gives voice to Love.
As AI develops an artificial, global language, you have the opportunity to speak with your own God-given voice, offering your gifts and talents to the world.
4Don’t forget that data isn’t wisdom
Pope Leo acknowledges that “No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI.” Getting a lot of data, however, is not the same as forming your own intelligence. He says,
But again, access to data — however extensive — must not be confused with intelligence, which necessarily “involves the person’s openness to the ultimate questions of life and reflects an orientation toward the True and the Good” (Antiqua et Nova, No. 29). In the end, authentic wisdom has more to do with recognizing the true meaning of life, than with the availability of data.
Are you seeking the truth? If you are hoping to grow in wisdom as you age, Pope Leo suggests that relying solely on data that AI can provide is not enough.
5Remember God
In a recent interview, Pope Leo said that it is “very difficult to discover the presence of God” in Artificial Intelligence.
If you find your focus is entirely on the world shaped by AI, but you have forgotten that it is God who Created and cares for the world, it's time for a change in perspective.
In recalling our duty to serve the common good and to encounter the presence of God, the Pope echoes words of Scripture that are always important to remember.
In the Gospel of Mark, when a scribe asked Jesus which was the first of all the commandments…
Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
Jesus’ words, of course, are just as relevant in our digital world of AI as they were then.
