Ophelia de Vere

„Technology is never neutral“, wrote Pope Leo IV in his Magnifica Humanitas (Leo XIV, 2026, §9), „because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it.“ This observation captures a central issue in the governance of AI. Since these clever systems don’t just execute pre-determined functions, but generate responses dynamically, based on patterns learned during training and the context users provide, generative AI represents choices about what is measured, optimised, permitted, or prohibited. As these systems increasingly mediate access to employment, education, information, finance, and public services, the question of value alignment becomes ever more pertinent – on a technical level as well as on a political, social, legal, and ethical one. But who should have legitimate authority to determine which values are embedded in the systems?  This doesn’t mean states, corporations, users, and individuals possess equal authority in every situation. Rath...