Millennial writer Mike Jordan Laskey writes:

For over 130 years, popes have been watching economic, social, and technological “progress” and writing long papal documents in response to that progress – often criticizing the human cost of unbridled technological development.

The first pope to do this, Leo XIII, defended factory laborers against the dehumanizing working conditions brought on by the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism. His 1891 encyclical letter Rerum Novarum argues for a living wage for all workers and for their right to unionize, for instance. The powerful elite who were reaping the benefits of this new technological society did not care what happened to working people. Pope Leo XIII felt he had to step in.

The pontiffs since Leo XIII have seen and responded to other socio-technological developments – nuclear weapons, abortion and euthanasia, global trade, the growing gap between rich and poor, human-caused climate change, and much more. And a common theme through the thousands of pages these popes have written is that technology and all forms of social “progress” must be evaluated by how they affect human persons and communities, especially those who are most vulnerable. Catholic teaching puts the dignity of the human person at the center.

When technology helps advance human flourishing – vaccines, medicine, water filtration, solar panels – it can be great. But when it causes suffering and death – nuclear war, climate change – technological progress must be slowed, restrained, or stopped altogether. Too often, the popes argue, we charge ahead in technological progress without thinking about possible implications or how that technology needs to come with essential regulations.

Of course, most technological advances aren’t as black and white as vaccines or atom bombs. How good or bad are iPhones? Social media? Automobiles, buses, airplanes? Polyester? My iPhone is good because it helps me stay in touch with far-away friends and family in ways previous generations would’ve found unimaginable. It’s bad when its addictive qualities keep me glued to the screen when I should be enjoying the undistracted company of my spouse or children….

Pope Francis writes about the dangers of rapid technology advances forcefully in a brand new document (an “apostolic exhortation”) on the environmental crisis titled Laudate Deum, or “Praise God.” He criticizes what he calls a “technocratic paradigm,” which is rooted in the belief that “reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as such.” We charge ahead creating and creating, using up the world’s resources without thinking, almost always leaving the poor and vulnerable behind….

I think more and more people are realizing the “unabated technological progress will save the world” perspective we have been spoon-fed for decades isn’t working out all that well. Social media is full of misinformation, self-driving cars are crashing, self checkout lines aren’t saving companies money as they cost people jobs. As people of faith, we should bring our commitment to God-given human dignity to corporate boardrooms, halls of government, and our own decisions about technology use. We still might get swallowed up by the T-rex that is our “technocratic paradigm,” but we can put our faith into action in defiant resistance.