Pope Leo warns technology cannot replace the value of human relationships

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a world of increasing technological dependence and polarization, Pope Leo XIV said there is greater urgency for humanity to see itself as a single “human community.”

“The perfection of the human person and the development of society must be regarded as closely interdependent: to set them against one another or separate them would be to render them meaningless,” the pope said during his Sept. 16 weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

As artificial intelligence opens up new possibilities, it also comes with risks as relationships become more virtual and less personal, Pope Leo said, continuing his series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution “Gaudium et Spes.”

The constitution highlights human interdependence and the need for mutual respect, he said, and invites people to draw strength from God’s plan that all people “constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

That is why, he said, “love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment.”

Pope Leo warned that as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into society, there is a risk of people becoming accustomed to “delegating to algorithms decisions that are the sole preserve of the human conscience.”

To build a more humane and just world, he said, people must move beyond an “individualistic mindset” and invest in human relationships with substance and depth. Diversity among people and peoples “must not be considered as a danger or a threat, but rather as a resource for enrichment and growth,” he said.

“The vision of humanity as a community of persons enables us to work together to seek the common good,” the pope said in his remarks to English-speaking pilgrims.

Pope Leo also highlighted the constitution’s emphasis on respect for the human person, citing its condemnation of “whatever is opposed to life itself,” including murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and willful self-destruction, as well as slavery, prostitution, human trafficking and “disgraceful working conditions” in which people are treated as tools for profit.

“This requires taking into account respect for every person, promoting life and avoiding any form that threatens it; respecting even enemies or those who think differently than us; and respecting the dignity that each person possesses, without discriminating against anyone, which is embodied in social justice,” the pope said in his remarks to Spanish-speaking pilgrims.

The Second Vatican Council document also emphasizes the “fundamental equality of all human beings,” he said, and calls for every form of discrimination to be overcome.

“For the future of humanity depends on each person’s commitment to collaborate with God and with their brothers and sisters in building a more humane world,” Pope Leo said.

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