Adele Howard was recently asked to write an article for publication in L’Osservatore Romano (the Vatican daily newspaper), on Pope Leo’s Encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas‘ and the challenge of AI in the light of the ecological crisis and the urgent need to take global action.
By Adele Howard
Humanity is at a crossroads, now facing both an ecological crisis in a warming planet and the anthropological predicament of humanity’s future in relation to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Pope Leo in Magnifica Humanitas exercises his deep concern “to safeguard and value the grandeur of humanity that has been given to us as gift.” (MH 90). While Pope Francis in Laudato Si’, with his understanding of integral ecology and the technocratic paradigm, called all people of goodwill to care for Earth, our common home, (MH 43) the focus of Magnifica Humanitas is about preventing the domination of AI over humanity (MH 100) and “building a world in which everyone can flourish” (MH 13).
Taking a perspective from Oceania, Australia has 278 data centres, essential for storage and processing of AI technologies, and is a key global location for new digital infrastructure. Companies such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services recently committed to multibillion-dollar investments here, attracted by our political stability, security and vast landscape….
Read the complete article in English here
Read the complete article in Italian in L’Osservatore Romano here