🇺🇸 영어 원문
Nobody was surprised that Pope Leo XIV cited well-known saints and previous pontiffs in his first encyclical, or papal letter of spiritual guidance, “Magnifica humanitas,” released Monday. But the name that immediately jumped out to many readers is one synonymous with high fantasy literature: J.R.R. Tolkien, the Catholic author of The Lord of the Rings.
Leo’s letter is concerned with “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” a major theme of his first year as leader of the Catholic Church. Drawing from his predecessor, Pope Francis, he warns of “the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm,” one capable of “reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.” He again compares the rise of AI to the Industrial Revolution that spanned from the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th, alluding to the teachings of his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, who in his own 1891 encyclical asserted the importance of workers’ rights and dignity during a time of technological upheaval and burgeoning capitalist empire.
The lengthy text further solidifies Leo’s stance as an AI skeptic. But the Tolkien nod is particularly salient given some backward interpretations of Middle-earth mythology by right-wing billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, which have long been ridiculed by other Lord of the Rings fans. One might even think Leo is trolling. (The Vatican did not immediately return a request for comment.)
Clearly, the pope is somewhat concerned about the motives of tech oligarchs racing to develop artificial general intelligence that surpasses human capabilities. Do they really dream of using this tool to cure diseases and solve climate change, or are they building engines of limitless profit and cultural dominance? It’s when he addresses our personal responsibility in challenging such dark forces that Leo borrows an insight from Tolkien’s famous wizard, Gandalf: “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.”
That lesson is miles away from what Musk and Thiel apparently see in Tolkien’s masterpiece. Thiel named his data analytics firm Palantir, after the crystal ball used as a spying device by the traitorous wizard Saruman in the saga; he reportedly calls his venture capital firm, the Founders Fund, “the precious,” which is what the twisted and covetous character Gollum calls the One Ring, a magical means of totalitarian power. Almost anyone who encounters Tolkien (or adaptations of his work) can see that he was writing about the corrupting effect of such power—in the novels, the temptation to rule inevitably undoes anyone who seeks to wield it. The Pope’s message reminds us that technology should serve humanity, not enslave it.
🇰🇷 한국어 요약
안녕하세요! 오늘은 교황 레오 14세가 발표한 새로운 교서(교황의 공식 문서)에 대해 알아볼까요? 이 교서의 주제는 바로 ‘인공지능(AI) 시대에 인간을 보호하는 것’입니다. 흥미로운 점은 교황님이 이 중요한 문서에서 유명한 판타지 소설 <반지의 제왕>을 쓴 작가 J.R.R. 톨킨의 이름을 언급했다는 거예요.
교황님은 기술이 인간을 위한 도구가 되어야지, 인간이 기술 시스템의 부품이 되어서는 안 된다고 경고했습니다. 특히 일론 머스크나 피터 틸 같은 테크 재벌들이 톨킨 작품을 오해하며 기술의 힘을 남용하려는 경향을 비판했어요. 톨킨의 작품에서 권력은 결국 부패를 불러오지만, 교황님은 우리가 가진 힘으로 악을 제거하고 후세에 깨끗한 세상을 물려줘야 한다고 톨킨의 마법사 간달프의 말을 인용하며 강조했습니다. 기술은 우리를 위해 봉사해야 한다는 따뜻한 메시지를 잊지 말아요!
🔑 핵심 단어 (Vocabulary)
- Encyclical – (교황의) 교서 – …cited well-known saints in his first encyclical…
- Technocratic – 기술관료주의의 – …growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm…
- Exploitation – 착취, 이용 – …reducing creation to an object of exploitation…
- Efficiency – 효율성 – …driven toward ever greater efficiency.
- Skeptic – 회의론자 – …solidifies Leo’s stance as an AI skeptic.
- Salient – 주목할 만한, 두드러진 – …the Tolkien nod is particularly salient…
- Oligarchs – 소수 지배자, 재벌 – …concerned about the motives of tech oligarchs…
- Corrupting – 부패시키는 – …writing about the corrupting effect of such power…
- Dominance – 지배, 우세 – …growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm…
- Succour – (고난에 처한 자의) 구원, 지원 – …succour of those years wherein we are set…
🔗 원문 링크
https://www.wired.com/story/pope-leo-schooled-the-tech-bros-on-tolkien/