Reclaiming Human Agency in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

The text, in continuity with the group’s previous publication and following Antiqua et Nova , highlights the difference between the prevailing AI definition of intelligence as rational action and problem-solving (often influenced by behaviorism and functionalism) and the traditional theological view of intelligence as a rational understanding and interpretation of reality. It stresses that human agency is fundamentally relational, rooted in the imago Dei (image of God), which involves intellect, free will, and stewardship. It discusses how AI, through practices like manipulative nudging, algorithmic governance, deskilling, and the rapidification of life, negatively impacts human freedom and promotes a paradigm focused on efficiency and control. Finally, the text proposes that the principles of Catholic social teaching, particularly subsidiarity and a focus on human dignity, offer ethical guidance for developing AI as a tool that genuinely supports human flourishing and responsible action rather than eroding it.