Dignity and Artificial Intelligence

 

A journalist for the Catholic Peace Weekly has quoted a Korean Bishop in his article on Dignity and Artificial Intelligence.

The bishop, in his recent statement at a gathering of domestic and international artificial intelligence (AI) experts, stated that “the AI era must be human-centered, not technology-centered.” He also stressed the inclusion of the socially vulnerable, appealing that “the benefits from AI should not be for the few, but for the common good of all humanity.”

The bishop is a member of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture and Education and chairman of the Social Communications Committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. He delivered a presentation titled ‘The Dignity and Participation of the Socially Vulnerable in the AI Era’ at the 2025 Seoul Future Conference hosted by the Seoul Newspaper. 

The bishop stressed the inclusion of the most marginalized and vulnerable, stating: “To understand who the socially vulnerable are in the AI era, it is crucial to ask, ‘What lies at its core?’” He then quoted the words of the Italian-born German theologian, the Servant of God Romano Guardini, warning: “When technological civilization in the AI era turns humans into formless beings, we will become a new kind of vulnerable group, disconnected from nature, the world, and our neighbors.” 

In his 1920s book Letters from the Shore of Lake Como, Guardini urged: “We must become masters of these unleashed forces, and the task of imposing a new order upon them must proceed in close association with humanity. This can never be achieved through technical problems alone; it must be accomplished through living, breathing human beings. A new humanity must awaken, armed with deeper spirituality, new freedom, inner strength, and a new capacity for growth." 

Citing Pope Leo XIV's exhortation “I Have Loved You”, the bishop said: “Love for the Lord is one with love for the poor. Encountering the lowly and powerless is the fundamental way to encounter the Lord within history. The Pope urges us to uphold this ‘fundamental way of encountering the Lord’ in the AI era.”

The bishop also urged, “In the AI era, we must jointly establish ethics that uphold the dignity and participation of the socially vulnerable.” He then quoted French theologian Cardinal Henri de Lubac (1869–1991)."Human happiness can be pursued in the future, but human dignity can only be respected in the present. Happiness without dignity is not human happiness.”