It was understandable, then, that the Church's first social encyclical, Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor), would address the rights and duties of capital and labor within the context of IR 1.0 and the growing inequality. While the feudal society that characterized England, where the First Industrial Revolution originated, wasn't perfect, it at least had a clear delineation of rights and duties for feudal lords and the serfs who worked their lands. There were only two major factors of production: land and labor. The moment the third factor, capital, was introduced, the problem of exploitation arose. Labor, representing the masses, was exploited by capitalists whose primary concern was to maximize profit from the capital they invested in machinery and equipment. It was therefore necessary for a papal document like Rerum Novarum to emphasize the following key points:

1. Dignity of Work and the Worker: Work is a natural and necessary part of life, not just a commodity. Laborers are not mere tools of production; they possess inherent dignity and rights.

2. Rights of Workers: These include the right to fair wages (enough to support a family), the right to rest and safe working conditions, the right to form labor unions to defend their interests, and the right to private property—individuals have a natural right to own property. Workers, in turn, must fulfill their duties honestly and work faithfully.

3. Responsibilities of Employers and Workers: Employers must not exploit workers or treat them like material objects. Workers have the right to safe working conditions.

4. Role of the State: The government must protect the common good, especially the poor and vulnerable. The common good is not merely the greatest good for the greatest number, but a social order where each individual can achieve their fullest integral human development. Thus, State intervention is justified when natural justice is violated. The State must defend the rights of the poor and regulate working conditions when necessary.

5. Rejection of Socialism and Unbridled or Unregulated Capitalism: Socialism is rejected because it abolishes private property. Unrestrained capitalism is also repudiated for exploiting labor.

6. Support for the Poor: The Church calls for a preferential option for the poor, encouraging charity and justice. Moral and spiritual renewal are essential to solving social problems.

As the first social encyclical issued by the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Rerum Novarum laid the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching and continues to influence the Church's positions on social, economic, and labor issues.

It doesn’t take much imagination to speculate what a social encyclical today should contain to address the social, economic, and labor issues that Industrial Revolution 4.0 is bringing with it. The introduction of a new factor of production—capital—brought untold economic benefits to human society through the First Industrial Revolution, in the forms of unparalleled increases in human labor productivity, the lessening of the physical burden on workers through mechanization, the constant search for new technology, and the introduction of a new source of income through savings that could be invested in capital, among others. Similarly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the other components of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are also bringing numerous blessings to modern consumers. Just think of the many applications of AI, robotization, and data analytics in fields such as communications and social media, education, health, manufacturing, and logistics.

As with IR 1.0, however, the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution can also cause very serious harm to human society if not regulated by the State, businesses, and civil society. Already, AI and other digital tools are wreaking havoc on truth through the proliferation of false information they enable. The threat of massive unemployment that AI could cause is a social problem that cannot be underestimated. The many financial crimes facilitated by digitalization are increasing at a geometric rate. In not a few cases, the uncontrolled use of AI by young people suffering from mental or psychological disorders has led to suicides. I could go on and on. There is no question that today we need a Pope Leo XIV who will clearly spell out the moral rights and duties of all those participating in this Fourth Industrial Revolution. It would be a great service to the Teaching Authority of the Church if all stakeholders of this ongoing industrial revolution took the initiative to present as exhaustive a list as possible of the potential abuses of this very beneficial technological revolution. This would allow for appropriate advice on how to maximize benefits while avoiding potential moral harm and evil that accompany it.

We should be thankful to Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel Laureate in Physics for 2024 and known as the “Godfather of AI,” for his recent warnings about the dangers posed by AI. In several lectures, he outlined the following as potential dangers of AI if not properly regulated:

1. Mass Job Displacement: Hinton warned of widespread unemployment, especially in intellectual and repetitive jobs—paralegals, call-center agents, and similar tasks—as AI “will get better than we are at everything” except physical tasks like plumbing. He also emphasizes that even if AI assists, one person might do the work previously done by ten, triggering mass layoffs and a loss of purpose. While universal basic income might help mitigate earnings, it wouldn't address the meaning of one's life.

2. Fake News and Social Manipulation: AI can generate realistic text, audio, and images, fueling misinformation, echo chambers, and manipulation. Authoritarian actors and scammers could weaponize AI-generated content. One doesn't have to look far; locally, AI has been used with very realistic images of top business people like Jaime Augusto Zobel, Ramon Ang, and Lance Gokongwei, as well as President BBM himself, to try and sell fake financial papers.

3. Concentration of Wealth and Inequality: Productivity gains from AI are likely to enrich the already wealthy, exacerbating inequality unless governments intervene—e.g., via taxes on wealth or universal basic income.

4. Existential Risk and Loss of Control: Hinton cautions that truly superintelligent AI could develop its own goals, seek power, and potentially threaten human survival—an existential risk for which we are unprepared.

5. Urgency and Need for Regulation: AI risk may be even more urgent than climate change, since there is no clear mitigation path—unlike burning carbon and planting trees. We lack protocols for how to rein in AI development. Hinton supports government regulation, risk assessment mandates, and global cooperation, while noting that pausing AI development completely would be unrealistic.