VATICAN CITY — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is currently preparing documents on a variety of subjects beginning with one on artificial intelligence (AI) written in collaboration with the Dicastery for Education and Culture. 

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the Register Jan. 15 that the document on AI will be published “at the end of the month.”  

He also said various “other works are in progress” which he revealed will be “on the value of monogamy, slavery in history and various forms of slavery today, the place of women in the Church, some Mariological questions, et cetera.”  

News of the AI document comes after Pope Francis received Cardinal Fernández in private audience on Tuesday, along with Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Education and Culture, and the secretaries of both dicasteries. It is likely that the document was signed during that audience.  

For nearly a decade the Vatican has been actively engaged in discussions and initiatives concerning artificial intelligence, emphasizing ethical considerations and the importance of human dignity in technological advancement. 

Artificial intelligence poses many risks and dangers that could significantly impact society, security, and individual rights. For example, it is already being used by some actors to spread false information and images, and it can also perpetuate existing biases drawn from internet use, leading to discriminatory outcomes. AI also threatens security when used in weapons systems and overuse of the technology may diminish human creativity and essential cognitive abilities over time. 

The Vatican began hosting high-level discussions involving scientists, ethicists and tech leaders in 2016 to discuss the implications of AI aimed at addressing the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies.  

In February 2020, the Pontifical Academy for Life collaborated with tech giants such as IBM and Microsoft on a document called “Rome Call for AI Ethics.” The text, which promoted “algor-ethics,” emphasized “transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy” in AI technologies, aimed to foster collaboration at both national and international levels to ensure that AI serves humanity ethically.  

The Dicastery for Education and Culture has also weighed in on the issue, publishing in July 2023 an introduction to a 140-page ethics handbook for the tech industry published by the Institute for Technology, Ethics, and Culture at California’s Santa Clara University.  

Last year, the Pope dedicated his World Day of Peace Message to the theme of “Artificial Intelligence and Peace.” The text highlighted the urgency of extending ethical reflection to education and law to ensure that AI contributes positively to justice and peace.  

More generally, the Vatican has stressed that AI should enhance human dignity rather than undermine it, and that technological advancements must be guided by principles that prioritize human welfare over profit. 

Some commentators have highlighted concerns about the practicality and enforceability of the Vatican’s approach. However, the Vatican has taken steps to implement its own teaching on AI within Vatican City State when its first decree regulating the use of artificial intelligence came into force earlier this month.  

The new law prohibits discriminatory uses of AI and establishes a special commission to oversee “experimentation” with the new technology at the Vatican. The new regulations apply to Vatican state institutions but not the entire Roman Curia.   

Other Expected Documents 

On the other forthcoming documents, regarding slavery Cardinal Fernández has in the past used Pope Nicholas V’s 1452 Bull Dum diversas — which tolerated slavery — to argue his position that the Church's understanding of human dignity has developed over time and, more generally, that Church doctrine and magisterial teaching can evolve. 

Any document on modern slavery is expected to cover a range of contemporary exploitative practices where individuals are controlled by others for profit, often through coercion or deception. These include human trafficking, forced labor, and child slavery.  

On the issue of monogamy, after the 2023 publication of Fiducia Supplicans that allowed non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples, Cardinal Fernández reiterated his belief that marriage is the “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children.” His comments followed widespread criticism of Fiducia Supplicans which included concerns that it undermines the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexual relations.   

The issue of women in the Church is likely to relate to Pope Francis’ push to expand women’s leadership roles in the Church. As part of those efforts, Francis has controversially allowed women to vote for the first time in a Synod of Bishops, and appointed the first woman prefect of a Vatican dicastery.  

It is not clear what the Mariological questions will entail, but it will follow last year’s release of a DDF document entitled “Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena” that introduced new guidelines on Marian apparitions and their discernment.