One in Christ / Daniel Conway
The truth of Jesus must guide us in this time of AI
(En Espanol)
The recent encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” is a vigorous defense of the eighth commandment, which prohibits us from bearing false witness (lying) to ourselves, to those who are close to us or to strangers.
As the Holy Father writes:
The use of digital platforms and AI systems is driving profound changes in public and political communication. Tools that could foster dialogue and participation are often used to construct distorted narratives and blur the boundaries between truth and falsehood, mixing facts with opinions. (#132)
The encyclical acknowledges that “disinformation” is as old as humanity itself. In fact, it was first manifested in the Garden of Eden when the serpent (the Father of Lies) told our first parents that eating the forbidden fruit would make them like God.
While it is certainly true that “bearing false witness” is a sad part of our sinful human condition, our current situation raises the art of telling falsehoods to a new level.
Pope Leo notes:
Disinformation did not begin with AI, yet today it finds a powerful amplifier in AI. The ability to manipulate content, images and videos exposes people to biased or misleading perspectives. This problem has both cultural and moral dimensions, since the quality of public communication depends directly on social trust and, in turn, shapes it. (#132)
Lying is a grave offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to deceive. The gravity of the lie is measured against the nature of the truth which it deforms. Even a “little white lie” is wrong. “Big black lies” are destructive and seriously sinful.
Pope Benedict XVI frequently wrote about the relationship between truth and freedom. Without truth, freedom is an illusion or a false hope. For example, when a woman is told the big black lie that abortion is not the deliberate murder of an innocent human being, she becomes the victim of an ideology that is both anti-life and anti-woman. Her freedom as a human being, and as a mother, is diminished by the lies told by many in our society and reinforced by our laws.
As Pope Leo makes clear, the truth requires “verification, cross-checking of sources and responsible argumentation” (#132). It is grounded in reality (facts) and is not simply whatever we want it to be. “Moreover,” the Holy Father says, “[truth] is deeply relational, built through bonds of trust and shared practices, as well as an honest exchange with others and with the world” (#132). The very nature of artificial intelligence makes it difficult, if not impossible, to develop the deeply human bonds of trust that are needed to communicate truths that we would rather not hear.
When our Lord was confronted by Pilate, he said that he came into the world to bear witness to the truth (Jn 18:37). Pilate responded with a skepticism that is common today. He asked: “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38). The answer then (and now) is: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). To discern the truth about ourselves, and about the world we live in, we must look to Jesus. A personal encounter with him is what allows us to acknowledge and accept the truth.
Pope Leo writes:
The content that circulates within digital environments shapes how people perceive the world and introduces into the collective consciousness images and narratives that direct our desires and influence our daily choices. This is “not a parallel or purely virtual world,” since what originates online now becomes a part of people’s lives, especially of the youngest. (#135)
“For this reason,” Pope Leo writes, “those who control digital platforms and means of communication have a considerable ability to affect the collective imagination and to present a particular vision of reality as desirable” (#136). This ability to shape what people think is true comes with an enormous responsibility.
“Such power should be constantly guided by the pursuit of truth and respect for human dignity,” the pope teaches, “so that the culture fostered on the internet does not become an instrument of excessive distraction, homogenization or dominance, but rather a setting in which inner freedom and critical thought can mature” (#136).
We who acknowledge Jesus as the source of all truth have a duty to safeguard what is communicated in the name of truth. Regardless of how they are generated, lies distort the image of God at the heart of human dignity.
(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †