Artificial 'intelligence' and communion

Picture: Pope Leo XIV (Vatican)

Today we made the journey to Croatia for a break. Looking out at the grass outside where we are staying, a strange object is roaming about the lawn, somehow ‘knowing’ when to turn and cut the grass. A robotic lawnmower is only one of a myriad of new devices designed to make life easier.

Artificial ‘intelligence’ is transforming our world in countless ways. It resembles a new industrial revolution, accelerating communication and allowing access to information in seconds. It brings remarkable opportunities as well as serious challenges. I deliberately use quotation marks around the word ‘intelligence’ because it is not clear that these systems possess intelligence in the proper sense. Human beings reason, decide, feel, and act from their innate capacity to live for others and with others. Everything humans create—from chewing gum to computers to autonomous, AI‑guided military drones - is the fruit of human intelligence and freedom, ordered toward some purpose, whether for good or for harm.

Yesterday, Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitatis, on safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. It is a substantial document, and I look forward to reading it over the coming week or two, especially as the heat outside limits activity during much of the day. I am particularly interested in how the Pope understands the role of AI in relation to the Church’s mission of living and spreading the Good News. I am also eager to reflect on his insights into how the Eucharist - the sacrament of communion - can shape our response to this new technological moment with wisdom, discernment, and a spirit of positive collaboration.