For the last few years, I’ve been seconded to assist the Catholic Church’s unprecedented global grassroots listening initiative. Just as that process drew to a close, I received a surprise request: would I help Pope Leo XIV launch his first social encyclical, focused on what it means to be human in a time of artificial intelligence? It is difficult to think of a more important theme right now than the impact of digital technologies, AI and robotics – on every level of our social interactions and