Assumption Catholic Church
323 West Illinois Street - Chicago IL 60654
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Pastor's Messages Fr. Joseph Chamblain, O.S.M. Pastor
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| 6/14/2026 | Fr. Joseph Chamblain, OSM |
| THE CHALLENGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | |
Before entering the seminary in the late 1970’s, I worked for several years in college libraries, mostly as a reference librarian. In those days doing research often required professional assistance. I had to learn the function of dozens and dozens of reference books and indexes, which sprawled over a huge section of the library. Finding answers to questions was real detective work—except there was no dead body. That world is long gone. By the beginning of this century, just about anyone who could turn on a computer could find the answer to their questions. Now, more and more in the age of Artificial Intelligence, we do not even need to know how to operate a computer. We can just ask our phone the same question we once asked the reference librarian.
I first had AI explained to me about four years ago by a medical student getting married here. He pointed out how useful it was in diagnosing patients, how AI could pull together a massive amount of possible medical explanations for a patient’s condition based on reported symptoms. Then, all of a sudden, everyone was talking about AI. Now employees worry that AI will take over their job. Those graduating from college this year are particularly vulnerable. The rising cost of higher education has led to a shift away from the liberal arts to more “practical” degrees. Now graduates wonder if their practical degrees are really practical anymore.
In the midst of this revolutionary change in the way our world operates comes the first encyclical of Pope Leo’s pontificate entitled Magnificat Humanitas or “Magnificent Humanity,” subtitled “On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Pope Leo indicated when he assumed the papacy last year that AI was one of his big concerns. While he and the late Pope Francis are aligned on many issues, I cannot picture Pope Francis issuing this document. It is a massive work of 42,000 words. Its basic theme is that “Human beings created by God can never be replaced by machines, no matter how intelligent they become.” It is a plea for moral reflection as well as regulation.
Throughout the encyclical Pope Leo contrasts the building of the Tower of Babel to the building of the City of God. He asks us to think deeply about what model of construction we are following. Are we taking a path of arrogance like the builders of the Tower of babel, guided by an artificial sense of self-sufficiency and, ultimately, leading to chaos or a path toward communion, relationship, and God? Pope Leo traces the history of industrialization and technological progress, as well as the development of church teaching over the past 150 years. “Each phase of progress” he notes, “has revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good.” He adds, “We are living through a rapid phase of transition, a change of eras, in which most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best . . . .For this very reason, crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided.”
Pope Leo concludes with a moving reflection on Mary’s Magnificat, touching on one of the deepest dangers of AI—that it will become a tool of the powerful and the connected at the expense of everyone else. “Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord and her Spirit rejoices in God her Savior., for God chose a young, poor, and humble girl for his plan of salvation. Mary suddenly sees all of history through this lens of revelation. Nothing has changed around her . . . The Romans continue to control her land and her people are still subjugated and humiliated. Yet everything has changed within her, and this allows her to see what is invisible. God has already shown the strength of his arm. He has scattered the proud, cast down the mighty, lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty-handed. . . . The Blessed Virgin not only teaches us to recognize God’s invisible work . . . but also to look at the world from a lower position, though the eyes of those who suffer rather than the mighty. It is she who reveals the transformative vision of the Christian economy, the historical and social result that still draws its origins and strength from Christianity. . . . May Mary guide our steps through this time of change and preserve in each of us true faith in the Gospel, so that we may bear witness to the grandeur of humanity, in which God has made his dwelling.”
It would be nice to think that we are all listening and committed to what the Pope is saying; but the biggest driver of change, and what usually co-ops us all, is convenience. Do I really care if it is ethical as long as it makes my life easier?
Fr. Joe
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