I was really looking forward to Pope Leo's new encyclical on Artificial Intelligence. I have not read the entire thing yet, but there are a few things I have heard about that make me sit up and wonder. Before I mention them, though, I need to qualify this. These are merely initial impressions that a few people have had. They may just be typical gripey complaints from people who want to insult the Holy Father (like that has never happened before!). Also, I want to make it clear that the overall message in this encyclical appears solid and in accord with the Catholic faith.
So, here goes. Apparently, there are some vague terms that do not seem to fit with the standard way that Catholics describe things. There are a number of typographical errors that were not easy to miss. There are a few "stretches" in logic. And, to top it all off, it does not seem flow well. It seems to have been written by a number of different hands and does not do a good job of making it sound like it is from one voice. Now, all these things could very easily be issues of "too many cooks stirring the pot" and we know that kind of thing happens all too often nowadays.
Again, this is merely what I have read from a few sources that are usually fair about these things. I will read through the whole thing soon (it is only about 50-something pages). I am hoping that it is merely a poor translation from the original Latin (maybe?), and that a better rendering is still to come (hopefully?). This has happened before.
What I did hear about the theology is that it appears to be cautious and fair. I have (as I have said before) never been very comfortable with AI, but I want a reliable Catholic interpretation to guide us into what is good and right. I pray that the difficulties I have read about will help me to examine it more carefully, and not just go overboard. After all, if we hear something bad about a document and then let that color our entire perspective, then that proves we are pretty gullible, and not a wise critical thinker. I do not want to accept it--or reject it--blindly. I want all of us to hear what the Holy Father has approved for us to read, and ask God to teach us through Pope Leo's ministry to us.