When Everyone's an Expert: The Pope, AI, and the Noise of Hot Takes
Been scrolling through yet another online discussion about AI lately, and something struck me about how we react when public figures weigh in on technology. Pope Francis recently made some comments about AI needing to help rather than hinder young people’s development, and predictably, the internet had thoughts.
The responses were fascinating in their predictability. Someone immediately cracked wise about wanting to hear what Ariana Grande thinks about AI next, another person questioned whether anyone actually cares what the Pope says, and then came the inevitable historical whataboutism – bringing up Galileo and the Inquisition like it’s some kind of gotcha moment.
Here’s what gets me: we’ve created this weird cultural moment where everyone feels compelled to have an instant opinion about everything, especially when it comes to technology. The moment a religious leader, celebrity, or politician mentions AI, we either dismiss them entirely or demand they justify their entire institution’s historical record before they’re allowed to speak.
But here’s the thing – and this might be my pragmatic side showing – sometimes reasonable observations can come from unexpected places. The Pope’s basic point about AI needing to serve young people rather than exploit them isn’t exactly revolutionary, but it’s not wrong either. When I think about my teenage daughter and how she interacts with technology, there’s genuine value in asking whether the systems we’re building are designed to help her develop critical thinking skills or just keep her engaged long enough to serve her more ads.
Working in IT, I see this tension constantly. We’re building incredibly sophisticated systems that can do amazing things, but the economic incentives often push us toward engagement over education, addiction over empowerment. Whether that concern comes from the Pope, a tech CEO, or a random parent at a school meeting doesn’t really change its validity.
The cynical responses about religious authority and historical hypocrisy miss something important too. Yeah, the Catholic Church has a complicated history with science and social progress – no argument there. But dismissing any contemporary observation about technology because of institutional baggage from centuries ago is intellectually lazy. It’s like saying climate scientists can’t be trusted because some early meteorologists got weather predictions wrong.
What really bothers me is how these discussions immediately devolve into tribal point-scoring instead of engaging with the actual substance. Someone makes a reasonable observation about AI and child development, and within minutes we’re relitigating the Crusades. It’s exhausting, and it shuts down exactly the kind of thoughtful conversation we desperately need about technology’s role in society.
The irony is that while we’re busy dunking on each other about who has the moral authority to discuss AI, the technology itself keeps evolving at breakneck speed. Tech companies are making decisions about algorithms, data collection, and user engagement that will shape how an entire generation learns and develops. Maybe instead of immediately reaching for the snark, we could actually engage with the substance of what people are saying.
I’m not suggesting we should defer to religious authority on technical matters, but I am saying that reasonable concerns about technology’s impact on young people deserve consideration regardless of their source. The Pope’s statement isn’t revolutionary tech policy – it’s a basic observation about priorities that happens to align with what many parents, educators, and yes, even tech workers are thinking about.
Perhaps what we really need is less time spent deciding who gets to have opinions about AI, and more time actually listening to what those opinions are saying. Because underneath all the institutional baggage and cultural noise, there might just be some wisdom worth considering – even if it comes from an unexpected source.