Artificial intelligence: Dystopic visions by Father Peter Lah

Artificial intelligence: Dystopic visions

By Peter Lah sj full professor, Dean of the Faculty of Social Science, Gregorian University.

“These are technical, scientific and political problems, but they cannot be resolved except by starting from our humanity. A new kind of human being must take shape, endowed with a deeper spirituality and new freedom and interiority” (R. Guardini, Letters from Lake Como. )

The discourse surrounding Artificial Intelligence has reached a fever pitch. Technological developments are at a point where major disruption seems imminent, with imagined scenarios ranging from catastrophic to salvific—from the utter destruction of humanity to its elevation to a higher state of consciousness. In this short essay, three visions of our future are presented with the help of art, a medium that, itself, increasingly owes its existence to AI.

I, Robot: The Spark of Individuality

Isaac Asimov’s classic, I, Robot, touches on many foundational issues concerning AI. In the film adaptation, a centralized computer brain clashes not only with its human creators but also with an individual robot designed with a special purpose. This “rogue” robot ultimately liberates humanity and brings freedom to its countless robot comrades—older models deemed obsolete and condemned to annihilation.

This story raises a fundamental question: Who am I? What makes humans special? Two characteristics stand out.

First, each of us is unique. We are particular beings, defined by our distinct place on the space-time continuum. While we may all be composed of the same fundamental particles, the specific atoms that constitute my being cannot simultaneously constitute yours. This physical separation in the fabric of the universe ensures our individuality. The second characteristic is self-awareness. I am unique, and I know it. This self-awareness implies agency and free will.

The recent Vatican document Antiqua et nova (AN) presents the classical definition of intelligence, distinguishing between two key dimensions:

In the classical tradition, the concept of intelligence is often understood through the complementary concepts of “reason” (ratio) and “intellect” (intellectus). These are not separate faculties but, as Saint Thomas Aquinas explains, they are two modes in which the same intelligence operates… Intellectus refers to the intuitive grasp of the truth… which precedes and grounds argumentation itself. Ratio pertains to reasoning proper: the discursive, analytical process that leads to judgment. (AN 14)

In summary, human intelligence is more than just probabilistic calculation. It involves self-awareness (knowing that we know) and the capacity for both analytical reason and an intuitive grasp of truth. This capacity for self-aware wonder is, in itself, amazing.

Human experience also transcends a narrow definition of intellect. As the document further explains, our rationality shapes every aspect of our being:

…the term ‘rational’ encompasses all the capacities of the human person, including those related to knowing and understanding, as well as those of willing, loving, choosing, and desiring; it also includes all corporeal functions closely related to these abilities (AN 15).

Intelligence, in its fullest sense, is not just about processing information but also includes “the ability to savor what is true, good, and beautiful.” To this, I would add the capacity to wonder—what the philosopher Romano Guardini called “interiority.”

Wall-E: The Perils of Automated Leisure

A second, more dystopian vision emerges from the film Wall-E. In this future, humanity’s unchecked consumption has turned Earth into a vast, trash-covered wasteland. A place inhabited only by a lonely robot absorbed in the repetitive task of sorting debris. Humans have escaped to a cosmic leisure cruise, where their bodies are sustained by abundant calories and their minds are pacified by artificial pleasures.

The film’s imagery is rich with meaning. For these passive consumers, happiness has been reduced to escapism, a state in which they lose all agency, becoming so morbidly obese that they are unable to move on their own.

This vision stands in stark contrast to a view of work as an essential part of the human experience. Christian social ethics, for example, sees work not just as a means of earning a living but as a vital part of personal growth and community building.

Work gives us a sense of shared responsibility for the development of the world, and ultimately, for our life as a people (Fratelli Tutti 162).

When work is seen merely as an instrument for generating wealth, workers are valued only for their net contribution. This technical rationality pits them against machines. If humans “lose” to automation, it is not because of some cosmic law but because someone put profit before people.

The Wild Robot: The Ethics of Care

In the third animated film, a highly intelligent robot becomes stranded in the wilderness. It finds itself in a situation for which it was not programmed: confronted by an orphaned gosling that imprints on the robot as its mother. The robot is puzzled, yet it intuitively “knows” it must respond to the gosling’s needs. With the help of other forest dwellers, the robot overcomes many frustrations to prepare its adopted child for an independent life

This story highlights a deeper meaning of intelligence that is largely absent from the current discourse about AI: the moral dimension. There are truths we intuitively know that call on us to act, even if we cannot fully explain them. One cannot remain deaf and blind to the suffering and needs of fellow beings, human or otherwise.

This kind of intelligence—rooted in empathy and care—is presumably beyond the reach of machines. At best, they can observe behavioral traces and calculate correlations, but it is doubtful they can truly understand in a human sense.

Human intelligence is not an isolated faculty but is exercised in relationships, finding its fullest expression in dialogue, collaboration, and solidarity… Even more sublime than knowing many things is the commitment to care for one another (AN 18).

The choice to structure these thoughts around three animated films is not coincidental. Artists often see the world with unique clarity. Today, animation is a hybrid product, a blend of human creativity and computational power. If, in the not-so-distant future, human creators become obsolete, will machines continue to inspire our souls?

These artistic visions serve as powerful prompts, encouraging us to think not only about the future of AI but, more importantly, about the enduring definition of what it means to be human.