Magnifica humanitas - An AI critique
Open House Editorial
At Open House we believed it was important to include in this issue an article on Magnifica humanitas, Pope Leo's first Encyclical, which he subtitled 'Safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence'. Unfortunately, the people we approached to write something for us were unable to do so in the limited time frame we gave them.
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So we thought 'why not turn to AI to critique a critique of AI'? Crazy? You can decide. To do this we chose Google Gemini and prompted it with the following instruction:
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I would like a short essay of 1000 to 1200 words that summarises, reviews and critiques 'Magnifica humanitas', the first encyclical of Pope Leo. Please include a small number of hyperlinked references. Please also consider some of the comments and articles that have appeared in the Catholic press. If possible, please include something that makes it more relevant to Scottish readership.
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What we got back after only a few minutes was remarkable and we publish it below. It serves, we believe, as a perfect example of what Pope Leo says in section 100 of the encyclical, that AI is a valuable too that requires vigilance. It underlines, too, what he says in that same section: 'The speed and simplicity with which information, complex analyses, media content and practical assistance can be accessed undoubtedly makes life easier. Yet they can also encourage excessive reliance and the search for ready-made answers, and weaken personal creativity and judgement.'
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We leave the reader to come to their own judgment about Pope Leo's concerns. Logged in users are most welcome to react and join the conversation in the comments section at the foot of this page.
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Google Gemini is the AI platform of Alphabet Inc.: their search engine, its related products, and its advertising business all operate under the Google name.
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