Jesuit Conference on Magnifica Humanitas’ Guidance on AI: Part 3

Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) – Continued

In recent editions of the bulletin, we have been discussing 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.
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

So far, we have covered the first three areas listed above. This week, we’ll review the points discussed regarding Protecting Children & Supporting Families. They offer practical – and critically important – guidance for procedures that can protect children from the unique set of dangers that Artificial Intelligence presents.

The pope encourages families to teach their children how to use technology well, yet notes how difficult it is “for parents by themselves to resist the influence of business models that monetize attention and time” (142, 140-141). Policymakers can support parents and protect children by resisting “the immediate interest of platforms, concentrated in a few hands, when the conflict with the wellbeing of minors” (142).
To protect children, the pope urges policymakers to:
1. Set age limits on platforms.
2. Hold service providers accountable and implement protections from all forms of sexual exploitation and violence (142).
3. Collaborate with educational institutions and families to protect children and train teachers for educating in this new context (139-147).
4. Promote systems “that strengthen interior freedom by fostering education in digital sobriety and the protection of minors, thus countering models that exploit vulnerability” (170).

Next week, we’ll cover the section on Slave Labor as outlined in Magnifica Humanitas.