Pope AI Governance: Why the Vatican May Have Out-Governed Silicon Valley

The pope of all people may have written the most impactful AI Governance document to date. The wisdom of thought process and use of metaphors shines a non partial light on how all of us should be thinking about AI Governance and the future of humanity. It is the most impactful because it sets the stage for 1.6 billion Catholics to adopt AI in the Human first way that we need to survive. My first reaction was what does the pope know about technology? Should he really be sticking his nose in something that he clearly doesn’t know much about? These feelings that I had about it were judgments based on little to no information. It is what I coach leaders to not do, and it turned into a great opportunity to check myself. I decided to give it a chance after I heard that this is the first that uses a cell phone, watches tv, and basically uses the same technology that us normal humans do. Once I dove into the 42,000 word encyclical I gained a lot of respect for how this Pope approaches tough topics. This is less of a hot take and more of a deep dive on the encyclical with descriptions that back up my statement why this may be the most impactful AI governance document. 

For those that don’t know, an encyclical is a massive geopolitical teaching put forward by the Pope. It provides his flock with authoritative guidance on the topic of his choice. Most of these encyclicals throughout time are well thought out and it’s purpose is to put the catholic teachings on a side of history. For example, in 1891 there was a similar-ish encyclical that talk about the industrial revolution. It’s over arching tone was that humans were not made to be a cog in a machines wheel for the sake of financial gain. It certainly feels like this encyclical is history repeating itself. This is a digital revolution on par with the industrial revolution. Instead of physical task, cognitive tasks are being automated. The comparisons laid out are rather interesting and for me made me think about jobs as a whole. Many people thought that jobs were going to be automated away at that period in time as well. As history tends to repeat itself, it makes me feel better about our prospects this time around. Anywho, I digress. There are two major metaphors used in this document and of course they are biblical in nature. First we will tackle the Tower of Babel. In the story, builders build the tower with unchecked ambition and pride. There is a dehumanization in the pursuit of uniformity. This serves as a stark warning of what happens when there is a top down approach. While I get this interpretation, and I certainly don’t want to get into bible lore with the pope, but this metaphor doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. I just don’t understand why the old testament lord came down and was hating on the tower. In that hate scattering many across lands with different languages.

The second metaphor in Magnifica Humanitas is the Book of Nehemiah: He rebuilds the city walls and does it basically in a decentralized way of working. Nehemiah listens to the families, and priests helping him build the wall. It is not centralized management but a team building a wall God approves of. I didn’t really know the story so I went back and learned about it. Seems like another stretch but I understand wanting to bring the bible in if I am the Pope. To sum it up: The story of Babel is like the tech oligarchs. Nehemiah is open source community project. The pope suggests that its not about AI but a choice on how we use it. Babbel or Nehemiah. His suggestion is that the wise way to do this is Nehemiah's way. Now onto some of the more philosophical, non metaphor points the encyclical makes. It makes a strong statement that technology is never neutral. While you can argue a hammer is a hammer and can be used for nails or heads, that argument doesn’t work with AI. Algorithm will naturally prioritize whatever the reason it was created for. The metrics on whether it is successful comes from the designers. The designers will have bias.

The doc also boldly sounds the alarm over the amount of power the transnational tech giants have. Encyclical takes an old principal that is known as the universal destination of goods. In this principal, Earths resources were for all. Water as an example is not something to be owned and sold. It does not say that private ownership is inherently bad, it is saying that there are certain resources like air and water that should not be fully owned. In short, Private ownership is subordinate to public domain. It is arguing that AI is a right like air and water.WHY? The encyclical argues that because models can use predictive power to manipulate global food prices and shape future of a region politically amongst a million other things. For this and many other reasons AI is for all and a shared commodity. Let’s talk next about some of the tragedies going into the AI build. Like children mining the rare earths. The Holy see actually takes this opportunity to ask for forgiveness to condemn the transatlantic slave trade that it either supported or turned its head to for centuries. I love that Pope Leo did this. What a strong leadership move to build trust back into the Catholic church. Holy crap is this smart. Another strong point made is relying solely on GDP as the sole KPI is not what is best for humanity. They acknowledge that AI is propping up the economy and will make people very wealthy. That said that doesn’t mean civilization is healthy. A restaurant could have its biggest day selling $2 pizzas but its actually its worst day because the pizza cost is $3. Innovation cannot be judged on a moral level simply by corporate profit. The document argues this is not progress.

Another topic in it is transhumanism. This ideology thinks our “weakness” is a bug in the system and should be merged out to a flawless being. Encyclical argues that our limits are not a weakness but a strength. Out of trials comes lessons that we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn without these personal challenges. Taking this weakness away is a long term disaster.

One of my favorite parts is the Viktor Frankyl quote. Humans are the beings who invented the gas chambers and also the beings that walked into them upright with prayers on their lips.  Suffering does not diminish our dignity, they are the crucible in which our deepest humanity is forged. Go out and read “A man’s search for meaning” by Victor Frankl now.

The Pope suggests Ai on the battlefield is not good, suggesting in the age of AI that the threshold for war is lower because the computer does the work. It argues moral judgements can not be reduced to mathematics because AI lacks consciousness. This was a concise explanation of a small novels worth of information. Now lets talk about why I believe this to be a very worthwhile document. First, because it comes from a place of wisdom and using lessons from the past to carve the new inevitable future. The Pope doesn’t bury his head in the sand, he calls out failures from the past to learn from. He also makes sure to show that AI needs to be human first in our implementation. This is a no brainer to me but money and power certainly can change the weak. The honest truth is what was written is good but could have offered more technical “hows”. What makes this impactful is it shows 1.6 billion people how we should be thinking about AI. Thoughtful information by the most powerful organization on earth that is proactive. These facts make it a huge deal. Keep learning! The friction of learning makes us capable of recognizing truth.