New Vatican-approved document weighs challenges posed by AI and social media.<\/p>\n
The International Theological Commission has released a new document arguing that \u201cthe life of the human being is vocation,\u201d while warning that unprecedented scientific and technological developments must be matched by a corresponding growth in responsibility so that progress is directed toward the good of the person.<\/p>\n
The text, titled \u201cQuo vadis, humanitas? Thinking Christian anthropology in the face of some scenarios concerning the future of the human,\u201d was published Wednesday and was drafted by the International Theological Commission, which is chaired by Cardinal V\u00edctor Manuel Fern\u00e1ndez, prefect of the Vatican\u2019s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document was approved by Pope Leo XIV. The document was originally released in Italian, with other languages expected to be added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this moment of the 21st century, the human family finds itself facing questions so radical that they even threaten its existence as we have known it up to now,\u201d the document says, adding that human beings today are exposed to risks \u201cnever imagined before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence and the human person<\/p>\n
Addressing AI, the commission cautions that forms of knowledge and calculation detached from embodied, situated human intelligence \u2014 and from relational knowledge passed down through generations via education \u2014 can become a threat to the true good of humanity.<\/p>\n
Social media, polarization, and \u2018digital religions\u2019<\/p>\n
On social media, the document says online platforms can intensify \u201cstrong polarizations\u201d among groups and can \u201ctribalize\u201d social exchange, fragmenting society into like-minded opinion blocs shaped by likes. The commission also warns that social platforms can become \u201cterritory of loneliness, manipulation, exploitation, and violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The document raises concerns about what it describes as a \u201cgigantic religious marketplace\u201d online, where a variety of \u201cdigital religions\u201d could offer an \u00e0 la carte spirituality driven by individual interests rather than real bonds or community belonging. It also questions the genuinely ecclesial character of some Christian communication on social networks, particularly when used to inflame polemics, foster division, or damage the reputations of others.<\/p>\n
\u2018The human being is vocation\u2019<\/p>\n
The commission reiterates that vocation is not only a theme for particular states of life in the Church but also is rooted in what a human person is. It adds that in the West a \u201cculture of non-vocation\u201d is often encouraged, shaping contemporary anthropological challenges \u2014 especially in the education of the young.<\/p>\n
The text says many young people are taught to view their future primarily through the lens of career choice, economic stability, or the satisfaction of certain needs, without openness to an ultimate meaning and the foundational relationships that shape identity and destiny.<\/p>\n
A warning about animals and humans<\/p>\n
In a final caution, the commission says societies \u2014 especially in the West \u2014 should avoid treating some animals, particularly pets, \u201calmost like persons,\u201d while also resisting the opposite temptation: reducing human beings to animals.<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n