The 60th World Day of Social Communications
Pope Leo: Technology must serve the human person, not
replace it
In his message for the 60th World Day of Social
Communications, Pope Leo XIV highlights the importance of ensuring that
technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, serves the
human person rather than replacing or diminishing human dignity.
Vatican News
Face and voice are unique traits of every person and form
the foundation of human identity and relationships. Reflecting on this truth,
Pope Leo XIV introduces his Message for the 60th World
Day of Social Communications, which will be celebrated on 17 May 2026, with
a focus on digital communication and artificial intelligence, highlighting the
need to protect human dignity in an age increasingly shaped by technological
innovation.
Human beings, the Pope recalls, are created in the image and
likeness of God and called into relationship through the Word. Preserving human
faces and voices, therefore, means preserving the divine imprint present in
each person and upholding the irreplaceable vocation of every human life.
"Preserving human faces and voices, therefore, means
preserving this mark, this indelible reflection of God’s love. We are not a
species composed of predefined biochemical formulas. Each of us possesses an
irreplaceable and inimitable vocation, that originates from our own lived
experience and becomes manifest through interaction with others," he
writes.
The anthropological challenge of technology
The Pope warns that digital technologies, especially
artificial intelligence systems capable of simulating voices, faces, and
emotions, risk altering essential dimensions of human communication.
The challenge, he stresses, is not primarily technological
but anthropological; it is a matter of protecting human identity and authentic
relationships.
He draws attention to the impact of social media algorithms
that prioritise rapid emotional reactions over reflection, weakening critical
thinking and fostering social polarisation.
"By grouping people into bubbles of easy consensus
and easy outrage, these algorithms reduce our ability to listen and think
critically, and increase social polarisation," the Pope explains.
The growing reliance on artificial intelligence for
information, creativity, and decision-making, he adds, also risks diminishing
analytical skills, imagination, and personal responsibility.
Reality, simulation, and social impact
Pope Leo highlights the difficulty of distinguishing between
reality and simulation in digital environments, where automated agents and chatbots
can influence public debate and individual choices, shaping emotional responses
and personal interactions.
Such dynamics, he notes, may affect not only individuals but
also social and cultural life.
Responsibility, cooperation, and education
To address these challenges, the Pope identifies
responsibility, cooperation, and education as essential pillars. Technology
developers, political authorities, media professionals, and educators are
called to promote transparency, safeguard human dignity, and ensure the
integrity of information.
"The task laid before us is not to stop digital
innovation, but rather to guide it and to be aware of its ambivalent nature. It
is up to each of us to raise our voice in defence of human persons, so that we
can truly assimilate these tools as allies," Pope Leo says.
Collaboration among institutions and sectors, he writes, is
required to guide digital innovation toward the common good.
"No sector can tackle the challenge of steering
digital innovation and AI governance alone. Safeguards must therefore be put in
place. All stakeholders — from the tech industry to legislators, from creative
companies to academia, from artists to journalists and educators — must be
involved in building and implementing informed and responsible digital
citizenship," the Pope insists.
Media literacy and digital awareness
Finally, Pope Leo underlines the importance of education in
media, information, and artificial intelligence literacy, fostering critical
awareness, protecting personal identity, and supporting a responsible culture
of communication.
"Just as the industrial revolution called for basic
literacy to enable people to respond to new developments, so too does the
digital revolution require digital literacy (along with humanistic and cultural
education) to understand how algorithms shape our perception of reality, how AI
biases work, what mechanisms determine the presence of certain content in our
feeds, what the economic principles and models of the AI economy are and how
they might change," he writes.
Renewed care for face and voice, he concludes, remains
central to preserving the human dimension of communication and orienting
technological progress to the service of the human person.
"We need faces and voices to speak for people again.
We need to cherish the gift of communication as the deepest truth of humanity,
to which all technological innovation should also be oriented," the
Pope concludes.
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