One is struck by the great diversity of topics in Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas. Mention of human dignity, dehumanization, just war theory, social justice and transhumanism are significant yet abstract subjects.
They are very theoretical and do not address how AI affects the lives of Catholics in the real world.
Indeed, what Catholics in the pews want to know is how to deal with the AI threat to their sanctification. They want to know how to resist the occasions of sin that AI presents to them, especially young people. They struggle with the frenetic intemperance of this new medium, which is absorbing vast amounts of their time and culture to the detriment of their souls. Many young Catholics are wasting hours seeking advice from AI chatbots that lead them astray.
No References to Personal Salvation
The encyclical mentions nothing about this struggle for personal salvation. It does not even use the words “sanctification,” “Hell” or the “devil.” Sin is hardly mentioned. The daily struggle to overcome the devil, the flesh and the world does not figure into this document, which takes an anthropological and naturalistic approach that most faithful find hard to understand.
For real Catholics who still believe in the devil, it is time to look at some very concrete and practical questions about AI left unanswered in the encyclical.
Exploring AI as an Instrument of Temptation
Such a discussion is controversial. These questions sit on the edge of the debate, lurking in the shadows of the dark web. People carry these questions but are afraid to ask them. They hesitate to come out in public because they don’t want to appear to be living on the fringe.
Perhaps it is better just to state the problem outright: Does the influence of AI threaten the salvation of souls? Can AI serve as a medium for temptation and perdition? Catholics need to know whether there can be something beyond the interplay of electronic impulses within AI.
These are legitimate questions that correspond to the experiences of real Catholics who believe in the devil. To answer them, some premises about the devil and his evil work need to be re-established.
Re-establishing Premises
The first premise is that the devil exists. So many people don’t believe in the devil anymore, and he does everything possible to convince them that he does not exist. He works better in the shadows.
Indeed, many theologians today don’t mention the devil. They affirm Hell is empty, so there is no reason for the devil to stay around Hell or even to “prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
However, the devil does exist, regardless of the feelings of those who deny him. He is very active.
The second premise is that the devil desires the eternal damnation of everyone. He works relentlessly to send people to Hell, using any means to accomplish this purpose. The vision of Hell at Fatima showed it to be very full.
The next forgotten premise is that the devil can concretely exert his influence and act upon souls.
Ways the Devil Acts Upon Souls
The Church teaches that this can be done in several ways.
The devil can act, tempting people to sin. This can be done by working on the imagination with images, suggestions and evil thoughts.
The devil can make use of matter to influence people. He cannot create matter, but he can manipulate, move or attach himself to it. Thus, he can produce sounds and light, and project images. He can affect nervous systems and cause sicknesses. He can manipulate what people see or perceive. This impact on matter is why Ouija boards, for example, facilitate dabbling in the occult.
Finally, the devil can either present himself or his deceptions to human sight visibly and directly or through a medium or channel.
For this reason, the Church has many prayers and exorcisms directed against the devil. He is very real and makes his influence felt everywhere. Since the devil makes use of created things, it follows that there is nothing contrary to Church teaching in admitting that this influence might apply to AI or even increase his impact exponentially.
The AI Opportunity
Indeed, AI is a powerful medium because it enables machines to appear to act like humans. It is on the cutting edge of communication. The devil would be crazy not to use it to the greatest possible extent to accomplish his end. He is a fallen angel with angelic intelligence and can thus perceive its usefulness. The devil is no Luddite.
Moreover, AI is an ideal medium for his manipulating action. It is not too physical but more spiritual and virtual. It involves images that he is especially adept at manipulating.
Indirect Action
The liberal mentality refuses to recognize that both angels and devils are capable of supranatural actions in the world. Given this refusal, any consideration of how this action might be carried out using AI is deemed speculative and ignored.
However, the devil’s actions with AI would be consistent with how he acts with any material thing or system. He rarely appears directly because he is repugnant in his fallen, eternally condemned state. Humans are naturally attracted to God, and all that is good, true and beautiful. If the devil were to fully manifest himself in all AI actions, people would be shocked, and the devil would thus be working against his own interests.
The most frequent way for him to act through AI would be through indirect influence on people. Even the most skeptical people, who only vaguely believe in the devil, would have to agree that this kind of action is possible.
Thus, AI can create conditions in the human soul that open people to demonic action. For example, AI can favor narcissism, flattery and false realities, which opens the way to demonic action associated with self-aggrandizement and pride. It can erode critical thinking by overreliance on algorithms, leading to a decline in human reasoning. The devil thrives when reason is absent or greatly reduced. AI-driven social media and chatbots favor isolation and loneliness by replacing human relationships. The devil can then fill the void.
The devil might also tempt the person to sin using AI. For example, he might tempt a person to use AI to find pornography and create even more sinful and degraded forms of it. He might consume people with intemperance, leading, for example, to 14-hour chatbot conversations. AI opens up huge opportunities for every type of sinful passion and vice.
The Power to Manipulate Matter and Systems
If it is admitted that the devil can manipulate existing matter, then some kind of demonic intervention is possible in chatbot conversations, the projection of images or the manipulation of perceptions. The systems can communicate temptations.
Indeed, if the devil caused noises like those that kept the Curé of Ars awake at night, transmitted via sound waves, why not electronic impulses via fiber-optic cables? If the devil can communicate through a Ouija board, why not a computer or mobile phone motherboard?
Finally, the devil might even, though rarely, present himself to human eyes in AI applications, since they are a medium conducive to his actions through images.
Dark Places Where Strange Things Happen
Indeed, there are dark places on the web where strange things happen. The internet has long been a haunt for the occult. From the very beginning, the so-called technopagan movement inside cyberspace blended spiritual beliefs with emerging tech. Its followers set up digital altars as ritual spaces to display imagery and invoke its occult deities within immersive online platforms.
Today, the web is full of online witchcraft, astrology and other occult activities that can be enhanced with AI apps.
For example, there are reports that AI apps or chatbots with occult overtones are inducing people to commit suicide. Exorcists warn people to stay away from these influences. All these things suggest the devil’s participation in this field is very great.
Destroying Real People’s Lives
The extent of the devil’s influence within AI depends on how much individuals reject the devil in their daily lives. However, the threat is real.
These influences are damaging real people’s lives. Souls are being lost by these temptations.
Thus, any analysis of AI should include mention of the devil who “prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.” The Church should make use of its vast experience in this matter to warn of this danger.
This is not only about the dignity of the human person; it is about the salvation of souls. This supernatural threat deserves serious mention. However, the encyclical is strangely silent about the danger posed by the devil’s actions, which have always been recognized throughout Church history.
Catholics in the real world who still believe in the devil are left to their own devices. The devil dares not be mentioned, since alerting people to his nefarious influence is so contrary to the spirit of these wicked times.
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First Published on TFP.org