Beyond Artificial Intelligence: Vocation and the Sacred Relationship Between Physician and Patient

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine should be discussed following Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical on AI and the need to protect human dignity in this era of advancing technology. As a result of its efficiency and accessibility to people for medical advice, AI is already starting to change healthcare. These advances may improve patient care, but medicine is about more than access to information. Medicine is a vocation motivated by the compassionate service to others, and this must be defended. Using the teachings of Antiqua et Nova and Magnifica Humanitas as a guide, this commentary discusses how Catholic bioethics can contribute to the integration of AI in clinical practice. These ethical principles can direct the proper use of AI while still upholding physicians’ responsibilities to their patients. Physicians must recognize each patient's dignity and needs, which go beyond the knowledge that any algorithm can offer. Furthermore, the recommendations that these AI systems provide are only as strong as the information available to them, emphasizing the continued importance of the physician's clinical judgment. As we continue to monitor the emergence and growth of AI, the Church serves as a reminder to us that AI should support physicians’ clinical judgment while preserving the sacred relationship of trust between physician and patient.