Recently the Vatican released a doctrinal note, “Antiqua et Nova,” or “Old and New,” to guide Catholic thinking around AI. Document-wise it’s long, and…Catholic. It was submitted to the Pope, and he approved it. But it’s worth your time to read it, whether you hate AI, love AI—even if you’re Lutheran.

Why? Because it’s a well-written, deeply considered document from the long view. This is a two-millennia-old global faith with 1.4 billion congregants and an institution of great power—it has impacts on every aspect of life. 

Many discussions of AI involve a particular discipline or cultural focus: What will AI do to software development? What will it do to the arts? Can it replace a teacher? A tutor? The United States government? But this memo takes a swing for the whole shebang—can AI replace God?

AI may prove even more seductive than traditional idols for, unlike idols that ‘have mouths but do not speak; eyes, but do not see; ears, but do not hear’ (Ps. 115:5-6), AI can ‘speak,’ or at least gives the illusion of doing so (cf. Rev. 13:15). Yet, it is vital to remember that AI is but a pale reflection of humanity—it is crafted by human minds, trained on human-generated material, responsive to human input, and sustained through human labor. AI cannot possess many of the capabilities specific to human life, and it is also fallible. By turning to AI as a perceived ‘Other’ greater than itself, with which to share existence and responsibilities, humanity risks creating a substitute for God. However, it is not AI that is ultimately deified and worshipped, but humanity itself—which, in this way, becomes enslaved to its own work.

So the Vatican’s official policy is that AI is not a replacement for God, and they don’t buy Sam Altman’s big arguments about AGI. I guess that’s not a surprise. Then again, they’re on their 266th Pope—they’re not aiming for surprises. 

Since a ‘person’s perfection is measured not by the information or knowledge they possess, but by the depth of their charity,’ how we incorporate AI ‘to include the least of our brothers and sisters, the vulnerable, and those most in need, will be the true measure of our humanity.’

Reading through this note, which covers war, deepfakes, sexuality, and a dozen other major subjects, I found myself constantly being shocked—not at the thinking, but at how rare it is, how little we in the secular world are zooming out to look at the larger picture. 

The tech industry is extremely focused on getting humans out of the loop, because automating everything is how you make lots of money. The Catholic Church makes the opposite case: Humans need to stay in the loop, because that’s how souls get saved. I’m not Catholic but I respect what is being said, and I appreciated being reminded, paragraph after paragraph, that AI is here to serve us, and not the other way around.