Artificial intelligence: A modern Tower of Babel?

On May 25, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." This pastoral letter has been much anticipated by the Catholic Church, and immediate news headlines expressed intrigue that the pope addressed the moral dilemma of AI and compared it to the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis. He also discussed Nehemiah, the cupbearer to Persian King Artaxerxes I during the 5th century B.C. In a detailed breakdown of the pope's central points in "Magnifica Humanitas," Our Sunday Visitor reporter Gina Christian highlights the timeliness of the Tower of Babel comparison to today's ethical debates regarding AI, quoting the pope's statement of warning that "the limits of any effort that, however grandiose, arises from self-affirmation, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God's blessing." As job losses continue to rise due to companies investing heavily in AI automation, we can definitely question whether increased efficiency is ethical. Just because AI can work an entire day without needing a lunch or restroom break, does this justify eliminating thousands of entry-level jobs, positions that have been the starting foundation for college graduates? Another concern raised by industry experts is the pace of AI's advancement in the absence of regulation. Max Tegmark, president of the Future of Life Institute, cautioned in an interview with CNBC's Trevor Laurence Jockims last year that "(i)f we continue racing ahead with totally unregulated AI, we'll first see a massive wealth and power concentration from workers to those who control the AI, and then to the machines themselves as their owners lose control over them." So, the primary question, given the pope's admonition concerning AI, is, who will succumb to the temptation to use it solely for financial gain and exploitative purposes? The people who attempted to build the Tower of Babel were motivated by a selfish desire for fame, even though they tried to convince themselves that they were undertaking this ambitious project to keep them united. God saw the self-centeredness of their hearts, as they sought their own glory rather than loving and worshipping Him. This is why, in Genesis 11:7, the Lord "(confounded) their language." The pope contrasts the story of Babel, as Christian explains it, with that of Nehemiah, and implores us to place "God at the center" of our lives and to build meaningful relationships with others. Nehemiah's memoirs, in the Old Testament book that bears his name, recount how he was grieved that Jerusalem remained in ruins long after the people of Judah had been exiled to Babylon. When King Artaxerxes I granted Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's walls, a spiritual renewal also emerged among the people as they repented and rededicated themselves to God. Placing God "at the center" is a beautiful call from the pope for a lifestyle devoted to communion with the Lord, a commitment that is very difficult for many in our digital age. When it comes to the advanced technology we are dealing with, my challenge has not been treating algorithms as a moral entity that the pope warns against, but rather mainly just spending too much time on my computer browsing the internet, scrolling through social media, or streaming movies. These may seem like little things in the larger scope of the pope's AI discussion, but they can cause us to lose focus on God when our attention is consumed by them. The pope's overall message in "Magnifica Humanitas" calls us to be aware of the direct dangers posed by AI and not to lose compassion for our fellow man by reducing others to "data points." He said that we are facing "a pivotal choice" that could lead us to construct "a new Tower of Babel." We are unfortunately heading in this direction now. We need a divine resurgence like the one Nehemiah led to circumvent it. Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com.