3 min readJun 8, 2026 06:25 AM IST First published on: Jun 8, 2026 at 06:25 AM ISTThe concept of human dignity mediates and negotiates all rights. It encourages a closely and widely woven network of recognition and democratic inclusion. It is in this context that the encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, titled Magnifica Humanitas, becomes significant and worthy of debate. The crucial message of the encyclical is that governments should “regulate AI companies, protect workers who are displaced by AI, and ensure humans retain oversight of autonomous weapons”. “The primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology,” the Pope writes, “but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem”.As Anna Rowlands, theologian at Durham University, says, the encyclical challenges society to reflect on questions such as, ‘What do we think human life is?… What vision and goal are we aiming for in our humanity and in our lives together?’” The Pope’s answer is “a rather beautiful vision of a civilisation of love”. The encyclical “urges humanity to recover a shared moral imagination, especially a way of seeing one another and the world that recognises the inherent value of the human person”.AdvertisementIt is interesting to read how such a stance can make Pope Leo a moral voice that can speak to the search for social justice and a harmonious coexistence. He reminds us that every civilisation and culture appears to present a story of growth from “disvalue” to “value”, from chaos to order. This is a spectrum. The disvalue-value structure ranges from self-aggrandisement to a sense of mystery and a genuine/creative idea of human ignorance when it comes to the claims of ultimate knowledge (as with Socrates) on the one side, and the rules and rituals of social formation and structural efforts to control and govern in accordance with enlightened ideas on the other. Our concept of god will tell who we are (even atheists fall into this litmus test, as most of the time atheistic “no-god” statements end up in some other god(s)). The biggest problem of technological civilisation and the currently dominant system of liberal-advanced capitalism is that it dehumanises people (Gandhi was a staunch critic of this system).Democracy, therefore, should go beyond being a mere political system and become an effort to create new humanising values to reinforce peace and non-violence.A deep sense of the dignity of all life will also act as a caution against slavery of all kinds. Uncontrolled manipulation of AI, driven by greed, may result in a form of human slavery. The dignity approach foresees this, acknowledges the irresponsible behaviours of the past, and recognises the threats of the future. Leo XIV issued an apology for the Holy See’s role in legitimising slavery. It is as Dostoyevsky says: “I did not bow down to you; I bowed down to all the suffering humanity.” Human dignity can enable the ability to apologise and propose pacifism and non-violence as the new pillars for a democratic and just coexistence.AdvertisementThe writer is professor, Department of Philosophy, Assam University, Silchar