Pope's AI Encyclical Raises Questions About Technology Access in Southern Regions

Pope Leo XIV has issued his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which directly challenges the idea that markets and profit alone should determine how artificial intelligence shapes society, according to Project Syndicate commentaries published this week. The Chicago-born pope invokes the Tower of Babel—the biblical story of humanity's fragmentation through language and ambition—as a parable for AI's dual potential: salvation or damnation. The encyclical's framing of AI as a moral and philosophical question, not merely an economic one, has prompted reflection among international observers on how technology governance will unfold across Europe.

For Calabria and southern Italy more broadly, the encyclical's argument carries particular weight. The region has long faced a digital divide: limited broadband infrastructure, lower rates of tech education, and minimal presence of technology companies or research institutions. While the Pope's encyclical addresses global questions of human dignity and technological choice, it implicitly raises a regional concern: who decides how AI develops, and who benefits from it.

Project Syndicate commentators have noted that the encyclical rejects what one describes as "Chicago School economics"—the idea that markets efficiently allocate resources and that regulation should be minimal. The Pope's alternative framing—that technology raises questions prices cannot answer—suggests a different model of governance, one in which moral and social considerations take precedence. Yet the practical implications for regions like Calabria remain unclear.