Artur Kluz: Human dignity must be the measure by which we judge any technology

"Pope Leo XIV has shifted the global conversation about artificial intelligence from technology itself to the human person."

In an interview with Vatican News, technology and artificial intelligence expert Artur Kluz made this observation as he reflected on Pope Leo XIV’s first Encyclical Magnifica humanitas: on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence, as well as the Pope’s recent message to the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.

The technology investor and entrepreneur is the founder and CEO of Kluz Ventures, a global investment firm focused on artificial intelligence, space exploration, and other frontier technologies. He developed the concept of “Virtue Tech,” the idea that founders, technologists, and investors need moral formation alongside technical expertise.

Kluz was among the speakers at the high-level Summit in Geneva, the United Nations’ leading platform on Artificial Intelligence, which examined how artificial intelligence is shaping the world and how it can contribute to addressing global challenges. He had reflected on the Pope's Encyclical along with other industry experts and with officials representing the Holy See. He also founded the Kluz Prize for PeaceTech, one of the world’s leading initiatives dedicated to advancing AI and other technologies that serve humanity, build peace, and safeguard human dignity, which, over the past four years, has attracted applications from technology builders and innovators across 82 countries.

I believe the greatest contribution of Magnifica humanitas is that Pope Leo XIV has shifted the global conversation about artificial intelligence from technology itself to the human person. From the perspective of someone who invests in and builds companies around frontier technologies, I believe Pope Leo XIV offers something often missing from discussions about AI: a compass rather than a constraint. Pope Leo is not opposed to entrepreneurship, innovation, or the responsible return on capital. Rather, he challenges us to ask deeper moral questions before deciding what to build, how to build it, and why we build it. Entrepreneurs should aspire not only to create smarter machines, but also to develop technologies and institutions that help humanity become wiser, more peaceful, and better able to flourish together.

Too often, conversations about AI focus on technological capabilities, investment, and competition. Magnifica humanitas reminds us that the more important question is what kind of humanity these technologies ultimately serve. As an investor and technology builder, I believe Pope Leo XIV highlights three practical principles: technology is never morally neutral; technology must always serve the human person; and wisdom and virtue must grow alongside innovation. Our greatest challenge is not simply building more intelligent machines, but becoming wise enough to use them well. Pope Leo’s call for moral and spiritual discernment is, in my view, one of the most practical recommendations in the Encyclical. Technology can help us build faster, but it cannot tell us what we ought to build. Discernment asks: Should we build it? Who will it serve? Will it strengthen human dignity, peace, and the common good?

Recently, I attended small gatherings in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., with young AI engineers, programmers, and researchers from leading AI companies where I expected discussions about larger models, AI agents, artificial general intelligence, and emerging trends. Instead, many questions focused on how the principles of the Encyclical could be applied in daily work, coding, and personal life: How do we build character so that we can build better AI? What is our understanding of God? How do we ensure that technological progress is accompanied by human growth? That confirmed something important: technology is a mirror of its creators. The technologies we build ultimately reflect who we are, what we value, and the character we cultivate.

The greatest contribution of Magnifica humanitas is not a new set of rules, but a reminder of the correct starting point. Human dignity, rather than efficiency or capability alone, must be the measure by which we judge any technology, including AI. This is not a new idea for the Church. It continues a tradition that includes Rerum novarum, Centesimus annus, and Laudato si’. What is new is its application to a technology that touches questions of truth, relationships, and power simultaneously. For me personally, the Encyclical did not introduce an entirely new direction so much as confirm something I have believed for years: the questions raised by AI are new, but the moral framework needed to address them — dignity, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, and justice — has long been present. To me, three practical points in the Encyclical stand out.