Jesuit Conference on Magnifica Humanitas’ Guidance on AI: Part 2

Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) – Continued

In last week’s bulletin, we began talking about the first encyclical letter that Pope Leo released in May, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” (MH) this letter covers many topics, including Catholic Social Teaching, that go beyond the topic of artificial intelligence (AI), touching deeply on the dignity of each human person.

Recently, the Office of Justice and Ecology of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States composed a letter to the leaders of the US House of Representatives and the Senate, offering highlights of Pope Leo’s guidance for policymakers related to AI – both ethical and practical. We are sharing highlights from that published letter with you here.

The letter from the Jesuit Conference emphasizes and summarizes six key areas outlined in Magnifica Humanitas, calling for a need for discernment:
– Truth and Accountability
– Supporting Workers
– Economic Inequality
– Protecting Children & Supporting Families
– Slave Labor
– Defense

Last week, we shared the key points of Truth and Accountability, this week, let’s take a look at the topic areas of Supporting Workers and Economic Inequality.

Supporting Workers
Supporting workers means supporting families (165-166). While AI has the potential “to relieve humans of arduous, repetitive or dangerous tasks and to provide intelligent support for human activity,” the “irreplaceable role of the individual” and protection of job opportunities must be upheld. “The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good” (152).

To protect workers, Pope Leo recommends:
1. “Every introduction of automation and AI should be accompanied by verifiable measures to protect the employment, retraining, and participation of workers” (156).
2. Training and professional mobility should be accessible to all (156, 169).
3. Governments, businesses, researchers, and civil society must work together, even at the international level, to develop policies that will protect workers (155, 168).

Economic Inequality
In alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ, Pope Leo repeatedly expresses his concern for the poor and vulnerable. He urges countries to ensure that the development and implementation of AI benefits those in poverty “from the outset” (158, 161). “Indeed, justice concerns every phase of economic activity, from resource acquisition to financing, and from production to consumption; every choice has moral consequences” (162).
1. Decisions regarding AI systems that impact access to credit, jobs, services, and other opportunities must be transparent, subject to oversight and contestable.
2. Societies must invest in training, infrastructure, and essential services – and correct economic imbalances through taxation and social protection – in order to curb inequality (164).
3. The international community should work together to make sure the benefits of AI are used to help lift up the most vulnerable countries and overcome aid dependency (163).

Next week, we’ll cover the topic of Protecting Children & Supporting Families.