The Warnings of the Tower of Babel: A Reflection on Magnifica Humanitas

Since its release in May 2026, I have been delving into Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity). This document, subtitled “On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” provides much-needed reflection and information for our current times. 

This is not a document for those who regularly use AI in their work or social lives, or an article to be shelved for “later”; it is an encyclical for everyone, and an encyclical for “now.” As Matt Meeks states, Magnifica Humanitas “is not really a document about technology. Technology is certainly its subject, but humanity is its heart. More than anything, this is a profound meditation on what it means to be human and on the spiritual mission God has entrusted to us.” 

There is no denying that, today, we are all affected by modern technology to varying extents. Likewise, there is no denying that, since the dawn of time, we have been human beings created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1: 26).  

Pope Leo begins his document by comparing and contrasting two Old Testament stories, namely the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9) and the Rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2-6). The document proceeds with reflections on how we can use these stories inherent in salvation history, as both warnings and suggestions for how to seek God’s plans for us, as human beings living in this age of technological advancement. 

As a Confirmation teacher, I often refer to the story of Babel in lessons with my students. As the children ponder the story of people in one community, working together to build a tower to reach all the way to heaven, they note that the people had become motivated by personal gain. Commonly, their reflections include references to “the same language,” the fact that people aimed to “make a name for [them]selves,” and the reality that God “confused their language.” 

One of the most insightful comments I heard from a student was, “Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should.” To me, this statement alludes to the kind of understanding Pope Leo is intending to promote within his encyclical.

Regarding the Tower of Babel, Pope Leo states, “It was an impressive project conceived without reference to God, supported by a uniformity that eliminated diversity and that chose homogenization over communion. When a city is built on pride and the claim to self-sufficiency, communication breaks down, languages are confused and people no longer understand each other. The result is not unity, but dispersion. Babel thus reveals the limits of any effort that, however grandiose, arises from self-affirmation, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God’s blessing.” (MH, 7) 

In seeing their goals of personal ambition and glory, and their loss of focus on Him, God divided the people. By contrast, Pope Leo reminds us that “Nehemiah heard the cry of a devastated city, brought that pain to prayer, discerned before God, asked for help … confronted the internal and external resistance and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem … brick by brick” (MH, 241).

We live in an age of technological advancement. Within this, there is a danger of following AI to the extent that we are making false gods out of AI or the creators of its content, rather than following God’s plans for us. We must not eliminate humanity from technological usage, or we risk losing our true purpose and creating our own technological Towers of Babel.

This being said, Pope Leo does not condemn technology. In fact, he acknowledges that “technological development has significantly improved the living conditions of humanity” and that digital technology is “interwoven into the fabric of daily life” (MH, 4).  He does, however, warn that we must discern, as Nehemiah did, how God wants us to glorify Him and unite in consideration of the common good, “brick by brick.” 

To quote Matt Meeks again, “Pope Leo … calls us to … work together in hope, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem by placing God once again at the centre of our lives, our communities and even our technologies … AI can become a remarkable instrument for human flourishing, not because the technology itself is good, but because the people using it are striving for what is good.”

Let us all discern “what is good” and seek God’s calling in all our endeavours. We can start by reading Magnifica Humanitas, if we haven’t already. 

Furthermore, I think we would all do well to regularly consider the words of a thirteen-year-old, who wisely stressed the God-centred perspective that just because we “can” do something, doesn’t mean we “should.”