Pope Leo XIV’s Social Question: AI, Human Dignity and Labour Justice

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution (also known as Industry 4.0) forms the context in which Pope Leo XIV articulates the social question and identifies the challenges that artificial intelligence (AI) unleashes upon the principles that spearhead the evangelising mission of the Church as God’s family. In singling out “human dignity, justice and labour” as key evangelical principles, Leo XIV signals a return to Leo XIII, for whom the dignity of the worker, by extension the dignity of work, compelled him to address the social question of his time. However, Leo XIV is not merely retreating to retrieve past answers in response to the precarious conditions facing today’s labourers. Like a good scribe who brings out of the house treasury what is new and what is old (Mt. 13:52), he retreats to address the present social question and to make great strides towards the future of opportunity and the challenges posed by AI. In this article, we focus on the social consequences of Industry 4.0 and AI’s impact on human dignity, justice and labour, with a specific discussion of the positive and negative effects of AI on the African labour context.