Subsidiarity is one of those words that is extremely important, but not widely understood — even though it should be, especially today. The principle of subsidiarity holds that political and social issues should be handled at the most local level consistent with the issues’ resolution. Subsidiarity is an important principle of European Union law. Similarly, the 10th Amendment of our Constitution states “the powers not delegated to the” federal government “are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” This is why we have federal laws, state laws and local ordinances/rules.
Subsidiarity is an important concept within Catholic Church governance and this is why popes do not step in and get involved in local issues that arise — but do so only when needed. Subsidiarity does not mean there is to be no central authority at all, but rather, centralized authority is to be relied upon only as needed, while keeping authority in general as close as possible to the most local, most human level.
Artificial intelligence, as you may have already surmised, violates the principle of subsidiarity right from the start. AI’s very foundation is all wrapped up in highly centralized information gathering and organizing by making automated use of many series of algorithms — and can do so far faster than any human can. But speed isn’t everything. Speed, in general, can often be very dangerous.
There is another stumbling block that too often goes unrecognized: While the general idea of artificial intelligence is not privately owned, all AI systems, models, datasets and infrastructure are indeed privately owned by tech giants in the field of IT, web search engines, social media companies, etc. So this “intelligence” is not only “artificial,” but it is also owned by “artificial persons” — that is, corporations. Corporations are, all too often, the unnaturally born enemies of human persons — a fact never to be forgotten.
I am a great believer in the importance of subsidiarity as a crucial principle of society, social organization and technology development. The further away from the human, local level that things operate, the more likely it becomes that human flourishing will suffer. Anything that strives for a one-size-fits-all approach to government and education, anything that waters down and/or does not respect human idiosyncratic uniqueness, ought to be avoided. But artificial intelligence, by its very nature, does just the opposite: Its specialty is the production of blandness and oversimplification.
What on earth does all this have to do with a column named “On Faith?” Quite a bit, actually. It is related to the Christology of Jesus. Christianity holds that Jesus, as the Christ, was/is the “Word made flesh.” The “Word” here is the “Logos” (in the original Greek text) of the Gospel of John, and this is a term John borrowed from Greek philosophy. It meant “word, logic, language, structure, thought, divine thought.” Allow me, please, to employ a (perhaps crude) analogy: This concept of logos is somewhat similar to the hypertext markup language (HTML) that operates every day in all our computers, through which our individual, personal computers can connect (link up) with a higher level of organization, such as the World Wide Web. By the way, “hyper” comes from the Greek “huper” meaning “above.” A hypertext is an organizing system that allows connection to coding above the lower-level text/code.
But, of course, there is a critical difference: Unlike computer code, Jesus embodies both human and divine code. He had/has one foot in our earthly level of humanity and, at the same time, has the other foot in the higher divine (hyper) level where ultimate meaning resides. This dual nature means He respects (and embodies) the importance of subsidiarity: He connects with us at the most personal, local level, but also at the highest, most abstract level as needed. (I don’t think AI can ever do that — it has no soul and no heart.)
This means, for us Christians, we can have a local-level connection with a fellow human (Jesus and man) at the same time as we can have a connection to the higher level of Jesus (who sits at the right hand of God the Father). If this sounds complicated, I’m sorry, but this concept is complicated. There are limits beyond which it cannot be made less complicated. This is why it is a “mystery” and this word is a special term meaning: a divinely revealed truth whose inner essence cannot be fully grasped by the finite human mind.
But to say that is not just a cop-out. Calling something of this sort a “mystery” is not to throw up our hands and shake our head. Rather, it is to realize here is something pointing toward that of a higher meaning, so high that we cannot fully understand it, but we can begin to understand it, if we have faith and work on it.
For the first time in human history, we have created something that can mimic human thought and problem-solving and do so at amazing speed and seeming complexity. But it is, in the end, still mere mimicry and artificial thinking owned and controlled by artificial persons (corporations) and artificial persons can be very, very dangerous — they have no morality.
We now have corporations that are transnational and with operating budgets larger than many countries. The ability of these transnational corporations to throw money and content (propaganda) into politics and public discourse is unlimited. Through their use and control of social media and AI, they can have massive sway over so-called democratic processes. They are more powerful than the ancient Roman imperial system and its armies, and modern corporations hold sway over way more land mass across the world.
All this has happened so fast that the human world has not had time to process how much our reality has been, and is being, transformed. Governments, commentators, intellectuals and philosophers are playing catch-up. The rules of the game and playing field under our feet are shifting with astonishing speed — one could say at an inhuman speed, at the speed of light.
How on earth can we slow down the rapids through which we are rushing? I think one way is by grabbing hold of this tested concept of subsidiarity. We are watching too many of the structures that help us organize society being taken over by soulless, heartless artificial machines using artificial intelligence. Without more guidance, stricter guidance and more human (and humane) guidance, this cannot end well. We need help: major help … now.
To those who think we have “progressed beyond the superstitions of Christianity,” I have a question: How do we stop humanity from worshiping the golden calf of AI, and from sacrificing our children to Moloch via social media? We are being enticed by, and powerful men are in service to, pagan idols that promise power, pleasure and wealth on a scale never seen before.
The teachings of orthodox Christianity may help and may be our best (and perhaps only) antidote to the disease of over-abundance and over-achievement. Here is a religion that teaches simplicity and humility, as well as love and respect for all human persons — a religion that teaches us to live “in imitation of Christ.”
Subsidiarity demands we run things close to home, keep things human-centered and community-centered. Somebody once said, think globally, act locally. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus and the early church did? We need to protect ourselves through subsidiarity and solidarity. The tech titans are creating a new Tyrannosaurus rex — a carnivorous tyrant king that could eat us all alive.
John Nassivera is a former professor who retains affiliation with Columbia University’s Society of Fellows in the Humanities. He lives in Vermont and part time in Mexico.
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