Pope Leo XIII: The Unexpected Tech Prophet
Faith Meets the Future
Long before artificial intelligence became a reality, Pope Leo XIII warned about technology’s power to shape society—for better or worse. In a recent analysis by Fr. Philip Larrey, a priest and AI expert, the 19th-century pope’s writings are resurfacing as a timely ethical compass. Speaking to CatholicVote, Larrey argues that Leo XIII’s teachings on labor, human dignity, and social inequality provide invaluable wisdom for today’s rapidly transforming tech landscape. As AI systems increasingly impact jobs, justice, and even human decision-making, Larrey asserts that the Church’s mission is more relevant than ever: to uphold the sanctity of the person above efficiency and profit.
Timeless Ethics in a Digital World
Larrey, who chairs logic and epistemology at the Pontifical Lateran University, views the Pope’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum as foundational for Catholic social thought — and uniquely applicable to the AI age. He sees it as a call to engineers, policymakers, and theologians to place human flourishing at the core of technological progress. While modern AI operates in realms the pope could never have imagined, Larrey notes parallels between Leo’s critiques of industrial capitalism and today’s ethical concerns about data ownership, algorithmic bias, and workforce automation. The real challenge, he says, is ensuring that ethics keeps up with innovation.
