(The New Atlantis) – Since the beginning of his papacy a year ago, Pope Leo XIV has held out the promise of offering the world some much-needed wisdom on living well with technology. His very choice of name hearkened back to Leo XIII’s unmatched moral and intellectual leadership in framing the case for human flourishing in the face of the indignities of the industrial age. And his ambition has seemed directed to offering similar guidance, rooted in the same enduring conception of the nature of the human person, to a world coming to terms with artificial intelligence.

His first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released to the world this past Monday, certainly reflects that ambition. But it also reflects the difficulties posed by the sheer magnitude of the moment. (Read More)