Author Lists 40 Tech Failures as Addendum to Pope Leo XIV’s 40,000-Word AI Encyclical
Updated
Updated · The Ringer · May 28
Author Lists 40 Tech Failures as Addendum to Pope Leo XIV’s 40,000-Word AI Encyclical
1 articles · Updated · The Ringer · May 28
Summary
Forty complaints — from broken passcodes and QR-code menus to useless chatbots and app-linked appliances — are framed as a satirical addendum to Pope Leo XIV’s new AI encyclical.
The piece argues those daily irritants are not trivial bugs but evidence that tech products routinely put users last, reinforcing the pope’s broader warning about concentrated power in a few companies.
Examples span customer service, streaming, search, privacy settings, car touch screens and forced updates, with the author repeatedly tying bad design to surveillance, lock-in and monetization.
At its widest, the essay says big tech has an intention problem rather than a messaging problem, and casts Magnifica Humanitas as a new moral rallying point against the industry’s current direction.
Can moral appeals from the Vatican truly rein in a tech industry that views humanity as monetizable data?
Is the path to better technology found in ethical principles, or must we first dismantle its concentration of capital?
If the AI boom is a fragile bubble, what happens when the frustrating products can no longer sustain the hype?
The Vatican’s 2026 AI Manifesto: Pope Leo XIV’s *Magnifica Humanitas*, Ethical Tech, and a Historic Apology for Slavery
Overview
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released on May 25, 2026, is a landmark document addressing the urgent ethical challenges of artificial intelligence. The Pope warns that the rapid pace of technological development threatens human dignity and solidarity, urging that control over AI must not be concentrated in the hands of a few. By positioning the encyclical as a modern response to pressing global issues, he calls for safeguarding humanity in an AI-driven era. This sweeping message directs the Catholic Church’s moral focus toward ensuring technology serves the common good, not just powerful interests.