In Catalonia, a journalist specialising in artificial intelligence has compared a new papal encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, by Leo XIV, with Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical, Rerum novarum. The comparison centres on a shared concern, how rapid technological change can affect human dignity.
Both texts place the person above capital or algorithms, according to the journalist. That idea is being read against today’s spread of generative AI, automation, deepfakes and information manipulation, which are reshaping work and public debate across Catalonia and beyond.
For background, Rerum novarum was published during the Industrial Revolution, when Europe faced worker exploitation, child labour, long factory hours and sharp inequality. The groups most exposed then included factory workers, miners and manual labourers. For the Vatican text, see the official Vatican website.
The journalist says Magnifica Humanitas speaks to a different kind of pressure, what he describes as an algorithmic revolution driven by big tech and AI. In this reading, the 19th century saw exploitation of the body, while the 21st century risks exploitation of the mind.
The new encyclical is said to identify fresh vulnerable groups, including journalists, digital creators and other knowledge workers. It also points to the wider public, since nearly all citizens can be exposed to algorithmic manipulation. For more Catalonia coverage, see our news page.
The comparison frames AI not only as a technical issue, but as a question of rights, work and social protection. It places the debate in a long Catholic tradition of responding to major economic change with a focus on the dignity of the individual.