Pope Leo Isn’t Standing Athwart the Singularity

Early in Pope Leo’s encyclical on artificial intelligence, “Magnifica Humanitas,” he warns against “the misconception” of equating the intelligence of machines with the consciousness of human beings. In a document that largely avoids antitechnological anathemas, it’s notable, if unsurprising, how emphatically Leo closes the door on the imputation of personhood to any version of A.I.:

So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate language, behavior and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom.

So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate language,........

© The New York Times