I actually bothered to read this Papal Pronouncement .   It triggered me. 

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 57th
WORLD DAY OF PEACE

1 JANUARY 2024

Artificial Intelligence and Peace

This appears to provide “guidance to the faithful” on how to get their heads around the new evolutionary phenomenon called Artificial Intelligence.     I think it is an excellent and authoritative analysis of the future risks and rewards of A.I..   

Back in the 1950s we had a worldwide debate of a similar nature.  It was about the risks and dangers of nuclear physics.    Ban the Bomb Movements arose.  The US authorities instituted an “Atoms for Peace” drive - that led to Uranium Mines for the brave new world of nuclear energy 

quote from the text

“The inherent dignity of each human being and the fraternity that binds us together as members of the one human family etc etc”

These are lofty and virtuous words, but sadly disconnected from reality.   Think Gaza.   

“We cannot presume a priori that the development of A.I. will make a beneficial contribution to the future of humanity and to peace among peoples”

Of course.   By definition, and philosophically, we cannot predict the course of human history a priori i.e., by reason alone, by deduction, without recourse to observation and experience.  We can predict natural future events a posteriori i.e., by induction, by recourse to observation and experience, such as “the sun will keep shining in the future”. 

The future of A.I. appears to be anyone’s guess.

   One thing’s for sure, it cannot be stopped, except by a future global nuclear war that, through mutually assured destruction, wipes out the internet and sees the survivors living in caves.    

Those nuclear fears were at the forefront of concerned people around the world in 1982 with Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars and the publication of the book The Fate of the Earth by Jonathan Schell. 

Fear about the future of humanity can be harnessed by the powers that be for their own agenda.    We see the effect of this in the Greta Thunbergs of the world fretting over human extinction caused by increased ppm of CO2 and the evils of fossil fuel producers but not consumers. 

And now we see a new fear of A.I. arising, that some claim could lead to human extinction. 

There is a huge amount on A.I. written and speculated upon.   This is bewildering for ordinary people.  If they are faithful members of the Catholic Church leading busy lives to get by, they can know everything they need to know about A.I. by reading this encyclical from an infallible source - trying to apply the teachings of Jesus to complex problems existing after over 2000 years of technical & industrial evolution.   

This text has references throughout- not to outside sources - but to the Church’s own past written prognostications.    This is odd, but I believe it it to promote the perception among the faithful that the Pope’s knowledge is divinely inspired.   He is his own authority.  

With the Vatican, all the talk has been aboout "Fiducia supplicans" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjkhDYRZG9Y