Beyond the Hype

It’s hard to remember the last time there was this much hype about something.
 
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm, an understandably huge range of reactions have found their way into the airwaves, and ultimately into our eardrums. It’s hard to know what to think.
 
Is AI going to turn into some kind of Machine-God that performs all jobs better than all humans? That seems to be what some people predict (and you’re not going to believe this, but those same people are usually also interested in the financial success of AI).
 
Maybe, though, AI already peaked and any improvements in the technology from here on out will be small and incremental—far from the impending doom scenario that news publications like to suggest (news sites, of course, want you to click on their articles to make more money from advertising).
 
To some degree, we have probably all fallen prey at some point to the carefully curated news headlines that make you feel like one person whose job was replaced by AI means that all of our jobs will be replaced by AI—if not today, then probably tomorrow by 2 p.m.
 
As is often the case, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It should be stated that, without doubt, AI is here to stay. That means it would behoove us to understand how this technology will impact our lives and what we, as Catholics, ought to think about it. On one hand, it’s exciting, but on the other hand, it can be kind of terrifying.
 
It’s been a handful of years since ChatGPT was released in late 2022, so it’s worth taking a moment to stop and reflect. Where do we find ourselves—and in particular, where does the working world find itself—now that there has been time to adjust to what some have dubbed as the greatest innovation since the internet?
 
While the initial release of ChatGPT, ChatGPT-3.5, was seen as a huge leap forward for AI, the most recent jump from ChatGPT-4 to ChatGPT-5 has been described by many experts as more of a small step than the revolution that was promised. Sure, it performed better on benchmark tests (like medical exams, the Bar exam, and so on), but it still appears far off from what people call “Artificial General Intelligence” (which is shorthand for technology that surpasses humans in intelligence and can even think on its own).
 
Perhaps it wasn’t surprising what came next from the CEO behind the chatbot we’ve all come to know, love, or be a little afraid of, ChatGPT, after ChatGPT-5 fell well short of expectations.
 
Shortly after its release, Sam Altman, the CEO behind ChatGPT, released a statement that was, quite honestly, pretty shocking. “As we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our 'treat adult users like adults' principle, we will allow even more, like [mature content] for verified adults," he announced on October 14 (about a month after the release of ChatGPT-5).[1]
 
Did you catch that? ChatGPT will now explicitly allow this kind of content for verified adults. Many commentators saw this as a sign that the company is shifting away from its lofty promises about Artificial General Intelligence and towards whatever keeps users engaged—and paying. Whatever the strategic reason for that, one thing is clear from a Catholic perspective: the use of a powerful technology to produce and normalize the availability of mature content is absolutely not acceptable, even if it’s for “adults only.”
 
That aside, cracks were starting to show in the promises that AI leaders had been making. Maybe AI was not about to replace us all. Predictions were probably over-hyped.

Cal Newport, the New York Times best-selling author of Deep Work, a computer science professor at Georgetown University and a PhD in computer science from MIT, called this out on his podcast in August: “I think the Tech CEOs got way out over their skis and were being disingenuous… they scared and tricked a lot of people and that part wasn't good.”^[2]

So, AI isn’t quite the groundbreaking revolution that was promised, but it’s also clear that it can perform a lot of different tasks that do legitimately affect the workforce. As Catholics, how are we supposed to think about this? A good place to start is the Church’s long tradition of reflecting on work, technology, and human dignity.
 
When Pope Leo XIV was elected, many noticed that he chose his name in continuity with the previous “Leo,” Pope Leo XIII. That earlier Leo wrote boldly and often about social issues, human dignity, and work—especially as the Church faced huge social shifts that were occurring as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
 
Pope Leo XIII, who wrote mainly during the late 19^th century, reminded the lay faithful frequently of a timeless truth: work is a good thing. Man should not be a slave to his work; rather, his relationship to work is very important and even sacred. Work is dignifying for man, and when we work, we also create. That’s one of our abilities as human beings that reminds us that we are made in the image and likeness of God: in a way, we are co-creators with him when we work.
 
That means that Catholics should not be afraid to speak up when it comes to humane treatment in the workplace. And not just when it comes to day-to-day working conditions, but also employment itself. “Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them,”[3] Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1891.
 
It would make sense then that AI is top of mind for Pope Leo XIV, who has not been shy about making sure the impact of AI on our lives does not cheapen human dignity and labor.
 
Writing on X, Pope Leo XIV advocated, "Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation… the Church therefore calls all builders of #AI to cultivate moral discernment as a fundamental part of their work—to develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life.”
 
He also strongly advocated to protect minors, writing, “Governments and international organizations have a responsibility to design and implement policies that protect the dignity of minors in this era of AI… that includes promoting ethical standards for the development and the use of AI."[4]
 
As Catholics, we should heed his directive to ensure that AI developments respect human dignity and labor. We should especially work to safeguard minors.
 
But in terms of regular, day-to-day jobs, it still seems like no one quite knows how to fully respect the dignity of work without also wondering from time to time, ’…Is it okay if I use AI to help me? Is that wrong?’
 
It’ll probably take some time before we all know exactly how AI helps or hurts our relationship to work, but the principle to keep in mind as Catholics is clear: work is good and it’s dignifying for man to have it. It’s part of God’s plan in our lives, and therefore it’s important to protect our relationship to work.
 
In time, maybe we will all find that AI helps us do more of the things that require human ingenuity, while also being able to perform tasks that previously required a lot of our attention (similar to how the calculator made it easier for us to do math).
 
Regardless, it will be important over the coming years to optimize for one thing ahead of all the others (like money or progressing technology just because we can): the human dignity with which God made all of us.
 
After all, AI won’t decide the future of the Church—the Saints will.
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[1]https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-allow-mature-content-chatgpt-adult-verified-users-starting-december-2025-10-14/
[2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwI8Q80-73s&t=3615s
[3]https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
[4]https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-xiv-conference-dignity-of-children-adolescents-age-ai1.html#:~:text=Pope%20Leo%20XIV%20warns%20that,in%20the%20Age%20of%20Artificial