What Scholasticism Can Teach Us About AI Consciousness

Pope Leo XIV recently stated that an ontological difference exists between the actions of human artists and generative artificial intelligence. According to Paul Howard of First Things, the pope's comments challenge the concept of functionalism, which suggests that if an AI can imitate human consciousness, it should be considered equal to human consciousness.

The pope argued that even if machine behavior becomes indistinguishable from human behavior through technical achievement, a real and knowable difference remains between the nature and activity of humans and that of machines. This distinction addresses broader questions regarding human nature, knowledge, and reality.