CHANGANASSERY, Kerala (Indian Catholic News) — Explaining Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical about artificial intelligence, a Syro Malabar archbishop says human limitations reveal God’s mercy and argues authentic relationships must extend beyond the confines of the digital world.
Archbishop Thomas Tharayil of Changanacherry says the pope’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) presents a comprehensive vision of human dignity amid sweeping technological change while building on the Church’s long tradition of Catholic social teaching.
The archbishop’s article, published in the July edition of Syro Malabar Vision, the publication of the Syro Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Curia, says the encyclical offers an “important response to the question of whether the use of artificial intelligence is morally acceptable.”
Archbishop Tharayil explains that the encyclical treats artificial intelligence as neither inherently good nor bad but as a tool requiring ethical discernment. It emphasizes that “technology is never morally neutral” and proposes fundamental principles rooted in Catholic social teaching to evaluate technological development.
At the heart of those principles is the belief that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore possesses equal dignity regardless of ability, health, wealth or social status.
“The first principle affirms that every human person is created in the image and likeness of the Triune God,” Archbishop Tharayil says, adding that the human person “is by nature relational and cannot be understood in isolation.”
AI must serve, not replace, humanity
Archbishop Tharayil’s reflection warns that advances in artificial intelligence are already reshaping employment, social interaction and decision-making in ways that can erode human dignity if left unchecked.
It points to large-scale job losses associated with automation, arguing that meaningful work is more than an economic necessity because it enables people to fulfil their vocation through productive activity.
Archbishop Tharayil also cites modern warfare as a warning against excessive reliance on artificial intelligence, describing how technological efficiency without moral judgment can have devastating consequences for innocent lives.
According to his reflection, AI systems “pursue efficiency while lacking moral judgment and human compassion,” demonstrating why ethical oversight must accompany technological innovation.
Lessons from Babel and Jerusalem
Archbishop Tharayil explains Pope Leo’s reference to the Tower of Babel with the rebuilding of Jerusalem under Nehemiah as two competing visions for the future.
Babel symbolizes a civilization driven by pride, self-sufficiency and domination, where technological achievement is detached from God and human dignity. “Although technological expertise and human ingenuity were abundant, God had no place in the project,” he said.
By contrast, Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem began with prayer and community. Before reconstructing walls, he united people, strengthened their bonds and restored trust, offering a model for rebuilding society through faith, cooperation and shared responsibility.
Archbishop Tharayil argues that genuine progress must prioritize people over technological achievement and communities over efficiency alone.
The reflection describes the modern corporate culture as suffering from the “Babel Syndrome,” a mindset that elevates “profit” as an “absolute value” and reduces people to “mere data and performance.” It warns that individuals are judged only by “productivity and utility,” while “the weak, the disabled, and the vulnerable” are marginalized. It also cautions that dependence on AI in education may erode “critical thinking, creativity, and the discipline of hard work,” even as its computational power continues to grow.
Human limitations reveal God’s mercy
The reflection concludes with what it presents as the encyclical’s central message: human weakness is not something to overcome through technology but something through which God works.
“Human limitations are not obstacles but opportunities for God’s mercy to be revealed and for authentic love to flourish,” Archbishop Tharayil writes.
He continues: “For this reason, genuine human relationships and physical presence must once again be restored beyond the confines of the digital world.”
Rather than rejecting technology, Pope Leo calls Christians to shape what the article describes as “a new counterculture” that addresses the challenges of the digital age while steadfastly defending the dignity of every human person.
“Pope Leo XIV neither rejects technology nor views it as inherently negative. Rather, he calls for the formation of a new counterculture that confronts the challenges of the digital age while steadfastly upholding the dignity of the human person,” Archbishop Tharayil says.
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