U.S. bishops focus on young people, artificial intelligence in Labor Day message

The Labor Day message echoed Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on artificial intelligence.

“Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of participation in God’s creation,” Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in the statement.

The archbishop’s’ statement focuses on concerns about labor, such as stagnant wages, not enough opportunities for young people, affordability and other economic issues, and the ongoing growth of artificial intelligence (AI), which has sparked fears about job security.

“This year, we focus on young people and vulnerable communities who face uncertainty in today’s economy,” Fabre said. “Traditional economic indicators tell us the economy is growing, but hiring has slowed, especially for unemployed workers, and unemployment remains high for Black workers.”

The statement indicates that about one-fourth of workers make $35,000 annually or less, and nearly three-fourths of low-wage workers lack stable and secure jobs. It also cites data from a 2025 poll that showed that 70% of Americans  believed it was unaffordable to have children, 13 points higher than the previous year.

On AI, Fabre said, “there is widespread concern [it] will lead to higher unemployment and to fewer jobs that can support a family.” He said young people are “the most impacted so far and also experience the most anxiety” about AI.

“We must listen to the experiences of workers, families, young people, and communities of color as they struggle to find stability,” he said.

The archbishop referenced Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses AI concerns at length. The Holy Father warns humanity against creating “a new Tower of Babel” and pleads for society to instead “build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.”

The pope “notes that although AI presents new opportunities, it also risks normalizing a vision that is anti-human,” Fabre said.

“AI systems can imitate but never replace human intelligence,” he said. “AI cannot feel, love, discern, or receive God’s grace and wisdom. It is not morally neutral and risks creating ‘new forms of exclusion.’ AI must be carefully developed to ensure it serves the common good and humanity itself.”

Echoing the pontiff, Fabre warns against “de-skilling, surveillance, rigid and repetitive tasks, reduced agency and creativity, unemployment, job insecurity, concentrated power, and increased inequalities.”

“Furthermore, AI relies on low-wage workers, who are often hidden and who endure harsh conditions, caught in an exploitative supply chain,” he said. “Pope Leo calls us to work together to ‘design systems centered on the human person and not solely on performance’ and foster an economy that values the God given dignity of each person. Dignified work is not merely about productivity, but also participation in God’s creation. A just economy is not judged on profit alone, but on inclusive growth and protection for the most vulnerable.”

Although Fabre acknowledged that it “may seem daunting” to align AI development with the interests of workers, “we have been here before.” He referenced the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, authored by Pope Leo XIII amid the Industrial Revolution.

“The Church has brought the sacredness of the human person to the questions of work and labor for these last 135 years,” Fabre said. “We recognize that as we observe the 40th anniversary of Economic Justice for All, the U.S. bishops’ landmark document on the economy, much of the teaching of this document remains relevant for our shared project in the United States.”

The archbishop said everyone — including the Church, the government, labor unions, civil society groups, and corporations — have a shared responsibility “to protect the human person and the dignity of work.”

“As new technology reshapes our economy and our work, let us be ‘builders of communion,’ ensuring that innovation and development is for the benefit of all, not just a few, and that each person can contribute to the Kingdom of God through their work,” Fabre said.