On May 29, 2026, Pope Leo XIV released the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, a text that matters for more than just the faithful. The core claim: “Technology is never neutral.” For anyone who works in tech, it sounds obvious. But coming from the head of the Catholic Church, it’s a political act — because until now, from Silicon Valley to Brussels, the myth of neutrality has been kept alive.
The message is clear: every algorithm, every platform, every framework embeds value choices. The designers decide what gets prioritized, who gets empowered. There is no neutrality: there is a worldview.
This encyclical arrives at a key moment for Europe. As generative AI accelerates, the EU is trying to regulate with the AI Act. But the real fight is not just regulatory — it’s cultural and economic. For Italy, especially the South, the risk is to remain a passive spectator of technology built elsewhere, on other people’s interests.
We, at Meteora Web, take a firm stand: we agree wholeheartedly.
In eight years working with Italian SMEs, we’ve seen “non-neutral technology” up close. An e‑commerce built on a US SaaS? Your data is theirs. A plugin that breaks because the publisher changes its policy? Your problem. An AI that “favors” certain content? Often depends on who funds it.
We come from accounting — balance sheets, double-entry bookkeeping, margins. So when a client says “I use Shopify because it’s easy,” we reply: “Sure — but who owns your data? Who sets the fees?” Owning your stack is a political choice, not just a technical one. That’s why we chose Laravel, WooCommerce, open source. Not for fashion, but to give our clients real control over their digital business.
The encyclical doesn’t mention code, but it hits the core issue: AI and platforms are not neutral because they are built by humans with interests. In a world dominated by US and Chinese giants, Europe — and Italy — risks becoming just a consumer market. We need brave choices: invest in local skills, open infrastructure, and regulation that protects SMEs in practice, not just on paper.
For the developers and entrepreneurs reading this: re‑examine your tech stack. Ask: Who sets the rules? Who owns the data? How much will it cost to switch in three years? The answer is never neutral. And from a small island in the Mediterranean, we’ve chosen our side.
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