World Communications Day 2026
“Preserving Human Voices and Faces”
The Sacred Value of Face and Voice
“The face and voice are unique and
distinctive features of each person; they express an unrepeatable identity and
are the foundation of every encounter,” the Pope writes at the beginning of his
message. Reflecting on the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence and new
forms of communication, he describes face and voice as sacred gifts from God,
who created humanity in His image and likeness and called each person to life
through His Word.
Preserving human faces and voices, the
Holy Father explains, means safeguarding the indelible reflection of God’s love
within every person. “We are not a species made up of predefined biochemical
algorithms. Each of us has an irreplaceable and inimitable vocation that
unfolds in life and is expressed precisely through communication with others.”
An Anthropological, Not Merely
Technological, Challenge
“The challenge,” Pope Leo writes, “is
not technological but anthropological. Preserving faces and voices ultimately
means protecting ourselves.”
He warns against algorithms that
manipulate users by enclosing them in “bubbles of easy consensus and easy
indignation,” systems designed mainly to maximize social media profits. He also
cautions against the illusion of an “omniscient friend” in AI—tools to which
people may uncritically entrust everyday decisions, complex questions, and even
artistic creation.
His appeal is direct: “Do not
give up your own thinking.”
Human Responsibility in the Age of AI
The Pope emphasizes that the central
question is not what machines can do, but what human beings can do—growing in
humanity and knowledge through the wise use of powerful tools placed at their
service.
Those who seek to “appropriate the
fruits of knowledge without the effort of personal involvement,” he says, risk
“hiding their face and silencing their voice.”
Risks for Journalism
Pope Leo devotes special attention to
the impact of AI and digital technologies on journalism. Systems that present
statistical probability as if it were knowledge, he explains, offer at best
only approximations of truth. Combined with the decline of field journalism—where
information is gathered and verified directly at the source—this creates
fertile ground for disinformation.
Hopeful Guidance for the Future
Despite these concerns, the Pope’s
message is not alarmist. Instead, he looks to the future with hope and calls
for active engagement. “The challenge before us is not to stop digital
innovation, but to guide it, aware of its ambivalent nature. It is up to each
of us to raise our voices in defense of human beings, so that these tools may
truly become our allies.”
He outlines 3 essential paths
forward:
- Responsibility at every level—companies,
developers, media professionals, public authorities, and individual
citizens
- Cooperation among all sectors of
society
- Education, especially in critical
thinking, source evaluation, and awareness of the interests behind the
information we receive
A Final Appeal
“We need the face and the voice to
return to speaking for the person,” the Holy Father concludes, reaffirming that
authentic communication must always remain rooted in human dignity.
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