The Meaning of the Admonition
The Pope's words sound straightforward: a homily should come from a priest's own thinking, faith experience, and knowledge of the congregation, not be ghostwritten by AI. Behind this is a judgment that transcends religion: the value of some work lies precisely in it being "some specific person who thought it out with care." A homily isn't information transfer, but a real connection between shepherd and congregation, and once generated by AI—however finer the prose—that weight grounded in real relationship and firsthand insight is hollowed out. What the Pope guards is this sincerity that can't be outsourced.
The Vatican's AI Concern
Notably, this Pope's sustained speaking out on AI has a through-line: choosing the name "Leo" itself echoes the previous Leo XIII speaking up for workers during the Industrial Revolution, and he clearly regards AI as a transformation of equal magnitude for this era. So this isn't old-fogey rejection of technology, but a continuation of the Church's traditional concern for "human dignity amid technological change." The admonition is also broadly applicable—it holds for all work where "the process itself is the value": sincere writing, heartfelt teaching, advice born of firsthand judgment. AI can efficiently produce text, but it can't produce the meaning of "this is something a person thought about seriously." Amid the flood of AI ghostwriting, this reminder holds for every industry: for some things, skipping the thinking is the same as hollowing out the value.
via: Hacker News