Why Catholic Social Teaching Is “The Way” to Approach AI Policy | RealClear Politics

On his recent trip to France, Pope Leo said Mass to an estimated 800,000 people. The energy and size of the crowd was an incredible sign of God’s timeless and real presence with us today—especially in our age of chaotic change. The Holy Father called it a “sign of rebirth.”

With artificial intelligence rapidly advancing, people need a spiritual rebirth more than ever. Following recent incidents of AI gone rogue and industry experts voicing their own concerns, Americans are increasingly fearful of the new technology. Growing numbers across the political aisle worry that advanced AI will take their jobs, while nearly three-quarters fear that it may even threaten human survival.

Amid such uncertainty, we need hope. We need optimism. Above all else, we need a time-tested framework for approaching everyday life when AI threatens to upend the lives we once knew. I may be slightly biased as a Catholic, but I really don’t think there is a better framework to follow than Catholic Social Teaching.

Here are the four principles: Human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good. As we grapple with AI, the prime principle of human dignity reminds us that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. And as members of this human family, we are all called to pursue the common good in our policymaking, our voting, and our daily actions. We were created to be in communion together with God. To quote Pope Leo’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, “The human person always remains the ‘way for the Church’ and the heart of every authentic path of integral human development.”

We are not called to be the servants of technology, whether it is social media or a large language model. We were not created to mindlessly scroll and cede power to the latest invention out of Silicon Valley. We were created to be “the way,” with technology serving the common good and not the other way around.

First and foremost, we all have a role in the design of AI policy. The principles of subsidiarity and solidarity guide policy making in practical ways. The concept of subsidiarity dictates that higher authorities should not interfere with local autonomy, which is especially relevant as neighborhoods and communities attempt to oversee the construction of data centers in our proverbial backyards. In solidarity, the vulnerable cannot be left behind by the rapid advancement of technology and the infrastructure it requires. Public policy must keep up with the unprecedented rate of AI development, and local voices have a responsibility to say “no” when advanced AI violates God’s vision for the world and the common good of a given locality.

The word catholic refers to the universality of the Church. Policymakers who are not Catholic or not even Christian can utilize this moral framework to advance AI policy in service to the common good. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently argued, “Effective policy guardrails are urgently needed to address potential harms” from advanced AI. While AI can and will benefit society in various ways, lawmakers must legislate with public concerns squarely in mind—from the adverse impacts on the workforce to the spread of misinformation. Speaking to technology CEOs and AI experts last month, Catholic bishops argued that the time to say no is when AI threatens to “harm creation.” The only way forward is for AI to be human-centered.

This message resonates with Democrats and Republicans, Christians and agnostics, every single American with a stake in our future. Now is the time to prioritize the principles of our faith over politics, recognizing that AI policy is too vast to be a partisan flashpoint. Most Americans agree we need effective guardrails for advanced AI, and they are encouraged to see industry leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI address current anxieties about rogue AI.

Moreover, we must do more than simply voice our concerns. We must remember the bigger picture, the grander vision—God’s vision for humanity to flourish in his image and likeness. His vision is for us, not machines.

Bishop Robert Barron often speaks of the “both/and” concept for Catholicism as a tradition that can unite different ideas rather than forcing an “either/or” choice. We must embrace subsidiarity for local, grassroots problem-solving and solidarity, which is our shared responsibility to human dignity and the common good.

One principle needs not cancel out the others. Catholic Social Teaching shows us how to weigh advanced AI’s growing influence, the need for effective guardrails, and God’s vision in shaping those guardrails for humanity’s sake.

Following Pope Leo’s lead, in God’s name, is a call to be reborn. May we all discern this call daily in our relationship with AI and each other, protecting human creation for the next generation.