by Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum
In every generation, humanity has sought to advance: to invent, to create, to build. These dreams of progress can be seen through building bridges, discovering new worlds, and inventing machines that make life easier.
We celebrate skyscrapers, self-driving cars, and artificial intelligence as signs of how far we’ve come. From the discovery of fire to the rise of artificial intelligence, progress has always been part of our story. Yet today, we stand at a crossroads: our technology grows smarter, but our hearts seem slower to love; our cities grow taller, but our relationships grow thinner; our machines become more powerful, but our sense of purpose grows uncertain. It is therefore important to reflect that beneath the glitter of innovation lies a quiet unease: Are we truly advancing, or are we drifting away from what makes us human?
We live in a time when the “robot” — symbol of modern progress and human genius — has outpaced the “river” — symbol of natural flow, life, and balance. The river and the robot, symbols of nature and technology, stand before us as a challenge. The river flows gently, sustaining life, reminding us of the patience and rhythm of creation. The robot, built by human hands, mirrors our genius but also our restlessness, our constant desire to control, to calculate, to surpass. When the river and the robot move in harmony, progress serves life. But when the robot dominates the river, we risk losing not only balance but our very humanity. The question before us is urgent: Can progress still flow with nature, or have we begun to fight against the current of creation itself?
When Progress Becomes a Barrier to Growth
Our modern world has reached astonishing technological heights. Well, progress was meant to liberate the human person to ease labor, cure diseases, and bring nations closer together. Yet paradoxically, it often hinders the very growth it promises. Today, many people feel more anxious, lonely, and disconnected than ever. The very tools that promised connection often isolate us. Social media divides communities into echo chambers; digital addiction fragments attention; and artificial intelligence, though capable of breathtaking feats, raises ethical questions about the dignity of human labor, creativity, and decision-making. In our race for innovation, we risk creating systems that deepen inequality, consume the planet’s resources, and reduce people to mere data points or labor units.
Technology, once a tool for connection, has sometimes become a wall. It threatens to replace human creativity and empathy with cold efficiency. The faster we move, the less we seem to remember why we are moving.
Pope Paul VI, in Populorum Progressio, warned against this very illusion of progress. He wrote, “The development we speak of here cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must be complete: it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man.” (no. 14) True progress, then, is not about more technology or wealth, but about the flourishing of human dignity and solidarity.
When progress forgets people, it ceases to be progress at all.
The Risks of Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of today’s most astonishing achievements — capable of composing music, diagnosing illnesses, and solving complex problems. But it also poses profound moral questions. Who controls it? Who benefits from it? And what happens when the line between human and machine begins to blur?
Pope Francis, in his 2024 World Day of Peace message titled Artificial Intelligence and Peace, cautions that technology must always serve humanity, not dominate it. He reminds us that the true measure of progress is the human person. Pope Francis states, “The inherent dignity of each human being and the fraternity that binds us together as members of the one human family must undergird the development of new technologies and serve as indisputable criteria for evaluating them before they are employed, so that digital progress can occur with due respect for justice and contribute to the cause of peace. Technological developments that do not lead to an improvement in the quality of life of all humanity, but on the contrary aggravate inequalities and conflicts, can never count as true progress.” When algorithms shape truth, when data replaces discernment, we risk creating a world that is efficient but not compassionate, informed but not wise.
Technology, when detached from ethics, easily turns from a tool of progress and becomes destructive. Instead of progressing humanity, technology becomes a weapon of domination. It can exploit workers through dehumanizing systems of production, manipulate emotions through algorithms that prey on fear and desire, and even endanger democracy by distorting truth and eroding trust. In such cases, technology no longer serves humanity but becomes the master. But when guided by conscience, solidarity, and care for creation, it can be a beautiful instrument of communion and creativity. In this way, technology regains its rightful place as an extension of human creativity and care. It becomes not a force of isolation, but a bridge of communion; not a means of control, but a medium for collaboration and beauty. Properly ordered, technological progress can reflect the divine image within the human person: the capacity to create, to connect, and to cultivate life.
The robot must not erase the river’s rhythm. Innovation must flow with the wisdom of creation, not against it.
How Progress Affects Relationships and the Self
The rapid pace of digital life has reshaped how we relate — not only to others, but also to ourselves. Our attention is fragmented, our rest shortened, our sense of self often dependent on screens and metrics. In the name of progress, we have learned to connect instantly, but not deeply. Oftentimes, we listen to stories from people who state that their partners and friends no longer interact face-to-face but prefer online interactions. Some, even though they are together physically, will just look at their gadgets and not talk with one another. There are some who, when their gadgets are taken away, feel agitated. In these cases, technology no longer connects us; rather, it divides us.
The philosopher Romano Guardini foresaw this in his reflections on the modern world: when humans lose their interior life, technology becomes an idol. Guardini was concerned that technology was not just a tool but a new vision of the world that sought to dominate nature. A metaphor used here is that of motorboats on a lake, where human intervention disrupts the natural order, and a sense of indifference replaces contemplation. We risk defining ourselves not by who we are but by what we produce or post.
The Church reminds us that relationships are the foundation of our humanity. Pope Francis, in Fratelli Tutti, urges us to rediscover “the culture of encounter,” a way of living that teaches us to see, appreciate, and love each person as a brother or sister, not as a means to an end. Authentic human growth is born not from isolation or automation, but from presence; from the simple, sacred act of being with others. Love requires presence, listening, and vulnerability — all of which resist the logic of machines. No algorithm can replicate the tenderness of compassion or the depth of genuine listening. Machines may simulate dialogue, but they cannot offer understanding; they may process information, but they cannot share empathy. Love, as the Church teaches, requires vulnerability, the willingness to be affected by another’s joy and pain. It flourishes in the unpredictable beauty of human encounter, where hearts meet and transformation begins. In a world increasingly shaped by digital mediation, the Church calls us to safeguard this sacred human space, to ensure that technology serves relationship, and not the other way around.
When technology shapes our relationships, we must ask: Does this tool help me love better? Does it help me understand others, care for creation, or grow in peace? If not, then progress has lost its way.
Integral Ecology: Reuniting Progress and Creation
Here lies the wisdom of integral ecology, one of the great insights of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’. He reminds us that everything, human life, social structures, and the natural world, is interconnected. It cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected. As Pope Francis writes that ecological culture is more than a set of quick fixes to pollution or resource depletion. It requires a new way of seeing the world, a mindset, lifestyle, and spirituality that resists the dominance of the technocratic paradigm. Without this inner transformation, even well-intentioned environmental efforts risk becoming part of the same system that caused the crisis. True ecological renewal must address not only external problems, but the deeper moral and cultural roots of how we live and relate to creation.
Integral ecology calls us to see that the ecological crisis and the moral crisis are one and the same. A culture that degrades nature also degrades people. The same mindset that pollutes rivers also pollutes relationships, economies, and souls. At the same time, integral ecology calls for a vision of reality where humanity, creation, and God are deeply interconnected. It challenges the technocratic paradigm that treats nature as an object to be controlled rather than a gift to be cherished. While technology can serve the common good, it often fosters a mentality of domination and exploitation when detached from ethical and spiritual values. Integral ecology invites us to recover balance.
To flow with nature means to recognize limits and to see creation not as a resource to exploit but as a gift to care for. True progress must harmonize with the rhythm of the Earth, respecting the balance between innovation and contemplation, between creation and Creator.
In this vision, artificial intelligence, digital tools, and human ingenuity are not enemies of ecology; they can become allies if rooted in ethics and love. The Church calls us to a new synthesis: to unite technological creativity with ecological humility.
Integral Human Development: More than an Edifice Complex
Modern society often confuses development with construction. It is as if highways, skyscrapers, and apps alone could define human advancement. But integral human development, a core principle of Catholic social teaching, reminds us that true development is not about building more, but becoming more human
The whole of humanity is called to move forward together, as Pope Paul VI accentuated that development is the new name for peace. Therefore, all development, even technological, must not be a hindrance to the common good. Similarly, Pope Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate deepens this idea, saying that authentic development must include not just material growth but also moral, spiritual, and cultural dimensions. As he stated, “The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties.”
Progress that benefits only a few or that harms creation is a form of regression. True development must be inclusive by reaching the poor, the marginalized, and even future generations. It must be holistic through nurturing the mind, body, and soul in harmony with the Earth.
This is why integral ecology and integral human development belong together. Both seek wholeness. Both remind us that humanity’s destiny is not domination, but communion.
The Church’s Vision: Progress with a Soul and Flowing Forward Together
The Church does not reject technology or progress; she blesses them when they serve life and love. She envisions a world where science and faith, innovation and compassion, the robot and the river, flow together. In this vision, progress is not an idol, but a vocation. It is a call to use our creativity in the service of the common good. The Church urges us to ask: Does this innovation uplift the human spirit? Does it protect creation? Does it promote justice and peace?
If yes, then it is part of God’s ongoing creation. If not, then it risks becoming Babel, a tower reaching high, but with no foundation in love.
Going back to our analogy, imagine a river flowing through a forest. It is clear, strong, and life-giving. Now imagine a robot standing by its side, designed not to dam it, but to help it flow more wisely. It is there to preserve its purity, to share its waters justly, to ensure life for generations to come.
This is the harmony our world longs for: where human progress flows with creation, not against it; where technology serves humanity, not enslaves it; where the heart and the mind, faith and reason, the human and the digital, dance together in peace. In this age of artificial intelligence, this is a good reminder. As Pope Leo XIV states, “AI, especially Generative AI, has opened new horizons on many different levels, including enhancing research in healthcare and scientific discovery, but also raises troubling questions on its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp and process reality.”
Let us, then, be builders not only of machines, but of meaning. Let us be innovators who create with compassion, and believers who see in every act of progress a chance to glorify the Creator. For when the river and the robot move together — when faith and science, humanity and nature, love and logic meet — then progress will truly flow toward justice, toward peace, and toward life abundant for all.
About the Writer,
Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum is a college instructor at the Institute of Religion of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and is now doing his Doctorate in Philosophy, major in Theology. He is also a research associate of the Research Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics (RCTRSE) at the same university. In addition, he holds a Master of Arts in Religious and Values Education degree from Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Pampanga. His research interests include family studies, medical humanities, artificial intelligence, Gabriel Marcel, Thomas Aquinas, and Karol Wojtyla. As an emerging scholar, he has presented his papers at local and international conferences and has published articles in academic journals, both here and abroad.