The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Religion and Foreign Policy Webinar: Pope Leo XIV and Human Dignity in the Age of AI
English Summary
The webinar centers on Pope Leo XIV's encyclical, arguing that the current 'optimization culture' risks reducing human worth to measurable productivity or achievement. This threat is evidenced by AI applications in genetic screening and end-of-life decisions, where intrinsic dignity is sacrificed for predictive efficiency. Policy must therefore prioritize ethical frameworks that re-center fundamental human value, recognizing vulnerability and service as essential elements of a flourishing society rather than defects to be engineered out.
中文摘要
本次網路研討會圍繞教宗利奧十四世的《神學文獻》，論述當前的「最佳化文化」（optimization culture）有使人類價值貶抑為可量化的生產力或成就的風險。此威脅體現在人工智慧應用於基因篩檢和生命末期決策等領域，其中個體的內在尊嚴為了追求預測效率而被犧牲。因此，政策制定必須優先建立倫理框架，重新確立基本人本價值；並將承認脆弱性與服務精神視為一個蓬勃社會的必要組成元素，而非需要被工程學排除的缺陷。
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