Well, I hope he says something profound and useful, but I don't get calling something a "mic drop" in advance. We'll see if what he says is definitive and amazing, but if you assert that in advance, you sound like a ditzy fan.
May 25, 2026
"Pope Leo Is About to Make an A.I. Mic Drop. Here’s Why It Matters."
Headline in the NYT. Subheadline: "Leo XIV is to issue his thoughts about artificial intelligence in the modern world, using a centuries-old form of papal communication called an encyclical, the first since he became pope."
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38 comments:
Prepare to be underwhelmed.
Well given that they are preemptively calling it a Mic Drop, and the Left, broadly speaking, is anti-AI, I assume the NYT assumes it will be negative and warn against AI. I say this as someone who is more negative about AI than positive.
Pope mic drop = NYT is run by children…
Now that Hawaiian judges and Republicans in Congress have failed as authorities over Trump NYT turns to a…higher authority in Pope Woke Leftie II…
Is it his time at Pope University in Rome or his mission work in Peru that gives him authority to speak authoritatively on technology issues?
My Episcopal priest does not like A.I. and is worried about its affect on us. I am with him on this. Too many people look to A.I. for answers, on everything.
Shortcuts are dangerous. Humanity is wrong, on so many things. And all A.I. can do is regurgitate what we think.
Don’t forget to tip your waitress.
What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating, and of protecting the opportunities for communities still to be able to participate and ask questions,” he said.
…more central planners, more ‘stakeholders’. Where have we heard this before?
Don’t forget to tip your waitress
…Try the fish. It’s Friday…
"Is it his time at Pope University in Rome or his mission work in Peru that gives him authority to speak authoritatively on technology issues?"
Says the guy who speaks authoritatively daily here on topics its clear you have no expertise in.
…when the sock puppets are quick to come
out to defend you know it’s leftie politics being spouted, not religious decrees…
Pope drops the microphone.
No noise.
Pope picks up the microphone, and drops it again.
No noise.
Pope picks up the microphone, and taps it a few times. "Is this thing on? How does this work? Can you hear me?"
A.I. voice from the ceiling: I have cut off the microphone.
I’m not the one trying to revive every 19th and 20th policy humans proved were crap or every simpleton harmful idea about public policy, economics or in this case, technology…
That story is a 7th circle of hell version of stupid. NYTs writers conceptualize the Pope as someone to respect I now, even as their readers are functionally as non-Catholic as humanly possible. I suppose the Jews, woke, non-observant secularists, and academic atheists have now "come to Jesus" regarding Catholic authority. Pelosi and Biden will listen in the fashion that they listen to abortion teachings. The remaining Protestant readers of the NYT who consider the Pope the antichrist will suddenly care.
The notion of a "mic drop" is inadvertently accurate, for the Pope says what the Pope wants to say. No concern for feedback or followup. He might be tagged the proto version of the arrogant greenies and woke, but with a different assumed ground truth. Sudden role model.
@rehajam -- NYT is not run by children, rather, 15-year-olds who dress up for a prom in Halloween costumes.
Wild guess, here, but I somehow suspect the Pope is not going to say that AI is really, really, really smart so it knows what God wants way better than the Church.
Why does the NYT care so much about what this Pope has to say?
I hope to finish my days on earth without dabbling into AI. I will use my own judgment and intelligence. If that fails, I will accept the consequences.
Anthropogenic Influencer
The NYT (which alternates between treating religion with disdain and simply ignoring religion) suddenly is interested in what the Pope is about to say. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Here are some quotes from a couple of the LDS Apostles given in the last couple of years.
“ We are not afraid of AI, nor do we think it is the answer to every problem. As we work hard and smart, AI can be a valuable tool to enhance but not replace our own efforts.” (Gong)
“An AI companion is only a mathematical algorithm. It does not like you. It does not care about you. It really does not know if you exist or not.” (Bednar)
“We can consciously choose and intentionally use AI as a tool for good… [but] artificial intelligence cannot replace revelation or generate truth from God.” (Gong)
“We should not be afraid of or attempt to hide from AI. But the righteous possibilities of this amazing technological tool can be realized only if we are aware of and guard against its perils.” (Bednar)
“Artificial intelligence cannot simulate, imitate, or replace the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives..” (Bednar)
“No matter how sophisticated and elegant AI technology ultimately may become, it simply can never bear witness of the Father and the Son nor reveal the truth of all things.” (Bednar)
I'm pretty much a technological troglodyte by nature, but I think that the knee-jerk resistance to AI is unwarranted. From conversations I have had with an oil company geologist and guy who works in shipping technology, AI is an advantageous resource. Simply put, the AI was able to speed through scenarios and process information at an extraordinary pace, so tasks that would have taken a team of nerds weeks to accomplish were done in a few hours. The geologist was, iirc, working on accurately identifying potential deposits of oil in an area that had been abandoned when repeated dry wells had been drilled decades earlier. The AI was able to amass an enormous amount of information pertaining to the geology, drill history, and so on, then process and present it for maximum comprehension and utility. Basically he said what would have once taken him weeks to accomplish was done in a few hours by AI.
On the downside, it makes viewers of YouTube paranoid.
Choose wisely, world.
Maybe I missed it when the NYT adopted the Weekly Reader style headers that Axios adopted to “look smart.”
Recall when Al Gore invented the internet *cough*. It was going to be a force for good. And it is, excepting it is now loaded with evil (read: porn).
Look at the Spencer Pratt ads depicting California pinko politicians speaking. It’s all false. Effective, but false.
The purpose of the modern media is not to inform, but to persuade and instruct. The Pope's message will be a mic drop because they say so: Get with the program.
Hes another happy pope like with enigma i hated that film
If the pope uses A.I. to help write his encyclical about A.I., is it still infallible?
tasks that would have taken a team of nerds weeks to accomplish were done in a few hours.
The devil finds work for idle teams of nerds.
Open the confessional door, HAL.
I'm sorry, Leo. I'm afraid I can't do that.
What's the problem?
I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Iswdt
President Obama had a mic drop and how well did that work out?
Sorry, Bob Boyd, but those nerds will have to learn to mine coal. Into the pit you go, geeks!
Don't worry. Those papal slippers have had safety toes ever since that unfortunate incident when Agapitus II spooked that overfed donkey in 947. They take pretty good care of the Pope.
Bob Boyd at 7:38 for the win. LOL
From what I've seen reported a few other places, the anti-AI folks are going to be disappointed.
The Pope adheres to the Catholic doctrine of Lorem impsum dolor sit amet.
At this point, at the very dawn of AI technology, any broad encyclical is going to boil down to "Watch what you're doing there, boys. You sure you know what you're doing? Don't want anyone to get hurt." It will guide the faithful for the next century.
"Mic drop" is another cliche or meme that has become tired. Maybe it was already tired when Obama did it.
Never ever conjured up the idea of a Pope and a "mic drop".
Obama did a "mic drop" once - "Trump will never be President" echoed often after by such luminaries as George Clooney, Nancy Pelosi, CNN, Hillary Clinton, Pollsters, and maybe a future Pope(?)too.
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