The Pope, AI, and Our Modern Tower of Babel
TL;DR: Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas' rightly warns that an AI-driven future risks excluding God, a modern echo of the prideful ambition behind the Tower of Babel.
Pope Leo XIV just gave voice to a fear that has been stirring in my heart for years as a Christian software developer: we are building a new Tower of Babel with silicon and code.
This week, the Vatican released Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical on artificial intelligence, titled 'Magnifica Humanitas'. In it, he issues a powerful warning against pursuing an AI-driven future that intentionally or accidentally marginalizes God. It’s a message that resonates far beyond the Catholic Church, speaking to a fundamental danger in our technological ambition.
The Pope’s central analogy is the Tower of Babel, and he couldn't have picked a better one. This isn't just about building tall structures; it's about the heart-posture behind the work.
An Old Story, New Tools
I remember teaching the story of Babel to my kids' Sunday school class. We used building blocks, and they were fascinated by the idea of a tower so tall it could reach the clouds. But the key to the story isn't the architectural ambition; it's the theological one.
The people on the plain of Shinar weren't just building a skyscraper. They were building a monument to their own unity, strength, and genius, apart from the God who made them.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:4 (KJV)
"Let us make us a name." That phrase is everything. It's the anthem of human pride. It’s a declaration of independence from the Creator. They wanted to secure their own future, on their own terms, to ensure their own glory. God’s response wasn't anger at a tall building; it was a merciful judgment on a prideful heart that would lead humanity to ruin.
Today, the common language isn't spoken on a plain; it’s written in Python and C++. The bricks are silicon chips and the mortar is data. But listen closely to the visionaries driving the AI revolution. You’ll hear the same ambition: to solve death, to overcome human limitations, to create a 'god' in our own image, and to make a name for ourselves that will echo through a future of our own design.
Human Dignity on the Line
The Pope's encyclical rightly argues that what's at stake is human dignity. Experts analyzing the document have highlighted this as a central theme. From a biblical perspective, human dignity isn't something we earn or achieve; it’s an endowment from our Creator. We are made in the Imago Dei, the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That is the unshakable foundation of our worth.
An AI-centric worldview, when untethered from this truth, risks reducing humanity to something less. We become messy, inefficient, carbon-based systems to be optimized or replaced. We become data points in a vast machine. This utilitarian view is profoundly dehumanizing, and it’s the logical endpoint of building a world where God is excluded. As we've explored before, the Pope's focus on human dignity is the crucial Christian contribution to this global conversation.
But Isn't AI Just a Tool?
Now, let's be honest with the strongest counter-argument. I hear it all the time, and I even say it myself: AI is just a tool. A hammer can be used to build a home for a family or to break a window in a riot. The tool itself is neutral; what matters is the intent of the user.
This is true, but it’s incomplete. A tool is never created in a vacuum. It is shaped by the worldview, values, and goals of its maker. The printing press was a tool, but it was born from a desire to disseminate information. The atomic bomb was a tool, but it was born from a desire for ultimate power. The values are baked in.
The ultimate danger of AI isn't a rogue superintelligence taking over, like in the movies. The more immediate danger is that we build these incredibly powerful systems to serve a vision of human flourishing that has no room for God. The problem isn’t the hammer; it's the collective will of a humanity swinging it to build a tower whose top reaches a man-made heaven.
This is why a robust framework for AI and Christian ethics is so vital right now. We have to ask not just what we can build, but what we should build.
To make it clearer, consider the parallels:
Characteristic · Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) · The "Godless AI" Project
Motivation · "Let us make us a name" (Pride) · Human autonomy and self-deification
Goal · Reach heaven; prevent being scattered · Solve death, scarcity, and meaning apart from God
Technology · Brick and mortar, unified language · Machine learning, data, unified code
Outcome · Confusion, scattering, divine judgment · Dehumanization, loss of meaning, moral confusion
So, What Do We Do?
As a Christian in tech, a husband, and a dad trying to raise kids who love Jesus in this rapidly changing world, the Pope's message doesn't lead me to despair or to throw my laptop in the trash. It's a call to discernment and intentionality.
It’s a call to reject the Babel-like ambition of self-glorification and instead embrace our true calling as sub-creators, using the gifts God has given us for His glory and for the good of our neighbors. It means we must constantly ask the right questions about the technology we build and use: Is this tool helping me love God and my neighbor more effectively? Is it drawing me deeper into truth, community, and worship? Or is it training me to find my ultimate hope in human ingenuity?
When we build at FaithGPT, this is the question we start with. Our goal is to create tools like the AI Bible Assistant that serve your walk with God by helping you explore His Word, not by trying to replace it. We believe AI can be a powerful tool for the church, but only if it remains a tool, pointing always to the true source of wisdom. You can see how we approach this at https://www.faithgpt.io.
The choice before us is the same one that faced the people on the plain of Shinar: will we use our amazing, God-given gifts to make a name for ourselves, or to glorify His?
The builders of Babel wanted to reach a heaven of their own making; we must remember that Heaven has already reached down to us.
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