We have never had so many ways to communicate and, paradoxically, it has never been so urgent to learn how to find each other again. One of the contributions most valuable of the Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas is to remember a truth that seems obvious, but that our time runs the risk of forgetting: no technology It can replace the experience of being loved, listened to and recognized by another human being.
Artificial Intelligence talks, responds, advises and even seems to understand emotions. However, understanding is not the same as finding oneself. And this difference is fundamental from psychology and pastoral care.
Human beings are born to bond. Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and subsequently enriched by multiple research, demonstrates that our emotional health depends on meaningful relationships. We learn who we are through the eyes of others. We build our identity through real links, not through simulations of links.
That is why the concern of Pope Leo XIV is particularly relevant for the youth world. Many teenagers today spend more time interacting with screens than talking face to face. They are hyper-connected digitally, but often experience a deep sense of loneliness.
The paradox is disturbing. We have more means of communication than at any other time in history, and yet indicators of emotional isolation, anxiety, and feelings of emptiness continue to grow in numerous contexts.
From therapy we observe that many current difficulties do not have their origin in a lack of information, but in a lack of meaningful relationships. A person is not healthy only because he receives sound advice. Heals when he finds spaces where he can be vulnerable without fear of rejection.
Artificial intelligence can answer questions. Can’t hug. You can offer suggestions. He cannot share the weight of a tear. It can generate simulated empathy. You cannot experience authentic compassion.
Youth ministry has an extraordinary opportunity here. Faced with a culture marked by digital connection, the Church can offer communities where young people experience real belonging. Spaces where someone remembers your name, listens to your story and values your presence.
Furthermore, Leo XIV warns of another risk: the progressive delegation of moral discernment. Many young people might assume that a machine-generated answer is necessarily objective or true. However, all technology incorporates criteria, interests and worldviews that must be critically examined.
Educating today requires digital literacy, but also emotional and spiritual literacy. We need to train young people capable of using advanced technologies without losing deeply human capacities such as listening, empathy, dialogue and friendship.
Because the decisive question is not how much we interact. The question is how far we are. The future will not depend only on the quality of our technologies, but on our ability to continue training people capable of loving, bonding and recognizing each other as brothers.
And no technological revolution will be successful if it ends up producing human beings increasingly connected to networks, but increasingly disconnected from themselves, from others and from God.
