{"id":447231,"date":"2026-05-29T06:47:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=447231"},"modified":"2026-05-29T06:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:47:02","slug":"pope-leos-first-encyclical-is-a-warning-about-artificial-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=447231","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo\u2019s First Encyclical is a Warning about Artificial Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has the Climate Crisis been downgraded in the wake of the RCP 8.5 cancellation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Encyclical;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ENCYCLICAL LETTER
MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS
<\/strong><\/em>OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE LEO XIV
<\/strong>ON SAFEGUARDING THE HUMAN PERSON
IN THE TIME OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible. Yet every era also runs the risk of creating an inhumane and more unjust world. Whenever humanity is in danger of marring its true identity, we Christians lift our eyes to the Incarnate God, knowing that it is \u201conly in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.\u201d [1]<\/a> In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. It now falls to us to face the challenges of our time with clarity of thought and responsibility. It is necessary to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power. Nevertheless, the issue is not limited to regulation. As Pope Francis<\/a> warned, we must realistically ask ourselves who holds this power today and how they use it: \u201cIt must also be recognized that nuclear energy, biotechnology, information technology, knowledge of our own DNA, and many other abilities which we have acquired\u2026 have given those with the knowledge, and especially the economic resources to use them, an impressive dominance over the whole of humanity and the entire world.\u201d [7]<\/a> In the past, it was largely up to the State to guide and direct innovation. Today, however, the main drivers of development are private, often transnational, parties that are endowed with resources and the capacity to intervene that surpass those of many Governments. Technological power thus takes on an unprecedented, predominantly \u201cprivate\u201d aspect, which makes it even more challenging to discern, govern and direct such power toward the common good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. We must, then, avoid the \u201c[Tower of]<\/strong> Babel syndrome,\u201d namely the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language \u2014 even a digital one \u2014 can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance. The risk of dehumanization \u2014 of building a future that excludes God and reduces the other to a means \u2014 is an ancient and ever-new temptation that today takes on a technical guise. Instead, let us choose the \u201cway of Nehemiah,\u201d which highlights the importance of working together to make the City of God a safe place for returning exiles. Rebuilding today means recognizing that, precisely from the plurality of voices and visions which, even though they sometimes remind us of the confusion caused by the diversity of spoken languages, a bright possibility emerges. Indeed, this is the possibility of building together, of transforming diversity into a resource and of making listening and dialogue the common ground upon which to cultivate justice and fraternity. Within this shared task, Christians discover their unique role of guiding actions toward God so that, in his light, pluralism does not dissipate into disorder, but instead, through the practice of synodality, it becomes the space in which humanity rediscovers its solid foundations and its final end. In the Book of Revelation, John sees the New Jerusalem \u201ccoming down out of heaven from God\u201d (Rev<\/em> 21:2) as a gift for all humanity. And this vision of grace is an invitation for us Christians to work together in order to foster a peaceful, just and dignified life in community within today\u2019s \u201ccities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[The word \u201cClimate\u201d doesn\u2019t appear until 81, though  Laudato Si\u2019<\/a><\/em> and the environment are mentioned earlier]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

81. A litmus test for social justice today is the treatment of migrants, refugees and those forced to move due to poverty, violence, climate change and environmental disasters. The way a society treats them reveals whether its sense of justice is driven by fear or by the spirit of fraternity. Pope Francis<\/a> urged us to see migrants not simply as a problem to be managed, but as a living image of the People of God on the move. [109]<\/a> They are people with dignity, resources and dreams, who have the right to be treated with respect and to ask to become active members of the societies that welcome them. Social justice in this area entails at least two complementary commitments. On the one hand, this means protecting the rightful hopes of those forced to leave by ensuring safe and legal routes, dignified conditions for receiving them, and genuine pathways to integration. On the other hand, it means promoting the right to remain in one\u2019s homeland in peace and security by addressing the root causes that force people to migrate, including those linked to economic injustices and the climate crisis. When these rights are respected, migration can become an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment among peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/leo-xiv\/en\/encyclicals\/documents\/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I predicted back in 2017 that artificial intelligence would be the next great scare, the replacement for the climate scare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Next Eco-Scare Story?<\/a><\/blockquote>