Do not renounce your ability to think – Human Creativity in an AI Age – Kelsey Gietl

Welcome back to the Extra Edition newsletter!

What’s in this Edition:

“Do not renounce your ability to think.” – Pope Leo XIV on AI
12 At-Home Libraries to Love – Which one’s your favorite?
Releasing in February– Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about

“Do not renounce your ability to think.”

It’s a fact of life: our society is becoming increasingly dependent on generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. This especially impacts creatives such as authors, designers, and musicians who are creating works from scratch while competing with AI creators whose tools often steal from legitimate artists to generate content. Yes, generative AI allows us to create an image or text in seconds, but what are we losing creatively and ethically through that act? This is why my books and cover designs never use generative AI and never will.

On January 24, 2026, Pope Leo XIV released a message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications with some of his thoughts on AI. He discusses how we must find ways to use AI ethically, while retaining the God-given dignity of every person and the human intelligence that He gave us. I’ve linked to the entire message at the end, but here are several parts that stood out, most especially, “Do not renounce your ability to think.”

“Faces and voices are sacred. God, who created us in his image and likeness, gave them to us when he called us to life through the Word he addressed to us. This Word resounded down the centuries through the voices of the prophets, and then became flesh in the fullness of time. We too have heard and seen this Word (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-3) — in which God communicates his very self to us — because it has been made known to us in the voice and face of Jesus, the Son of God.”

“Although AI can provide support and assistance in managing tasks related to communication, in the long run, choosing to evade the effort of thinking for ourselves and settling for artificial statistical compilations threatens to diminish our cognitive, emotional and communication skills.”

“In recent years, artificial intelligence systems have increasingly taken control of the production of texts, music and videos. This puts much of the human creative industry at risk of being dismantled and replaced with the label “Powered by AI,” turning people into passive consumers of unthought thoughts and anonymous products without ownership or love. Meanwhile, the masterpieces of human genius in the fields of music, art and literature are being reduced to mere training grounds for machines.”

“Renouncing creativity and surrendering our mental capacities and imagination to machines would mean burying the talents we have been given to grow as individuals in relation to God and others. It would mean hiding our faces and silencing our voices.”

“The stakes are high. The power of simulation is such that AI can even deceive us by fabricating parallel ‘realities,’ usurping our faces and voices. We are immersed in a world of multidimensionality where it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from fiction.”

“Inaccuracy only exacerbates this problem. Systems that present statistical probability as knowledge are, at best, offering us approximations of the truth, which are sometimes outright delusions. Failure to verify sources, coupled with the crisis in field reporting, which involves constantly gathering and verifying information in the places where events occur, can further fuel disinformation, causing a growing sense of mistrust, confusion, and insecurity.”

“The task laid before us is not to stop digital innovation, but rather to guide it and to be aware of its ambivalent nature. It is up to each of us to raise our voice in defense of human persons, so that we can truly assimilate these tools as allies.”

“We need faces and voices to speak for people again. We need to cherish the gift of communication as the deepest truth of humanity, to which all technological innovation should also be oriented.”

Read Pope Leo’s Entire Message.

12 At-Home Libraries to Love

On a lighter note, this week, Zillow released its list of “12 At-Home Libraries to Inspire Any Bibliophile.” All of these libraries are completely real and most are in homes currently available to buy or rent. (Assuming you can afford the high price tag.) Of course, I loved them all, but I particularly liked The Two Story Library. Comfy couches and rolling ladders while literally surrounded by books? Yes, please! Bonus: For only $4.5 million, you can own this former West Virginia Bed and Breakfast where every bedroom has a theme.

I also liked the blue color scheme and layout of this Massachusetts Communal Library. My only question is why the shelves are so bare. It looks like they picked books based on their colors alone.

See the full library list. Which one’s your favorite?

Releasing in February

Need even more books? Here are this month’s new releases. (Note: I receive no compensation for featuring the books below.)

Quirky Catholic Kids by Ginny Kochis – Provides practical faith-based strategies for parents based on the author’s own life raising neurodivergent kids. While I haven’t read this book yet, I’ve found her email newsletter to be a great read.
Blossom as Saints by Allison Ramirez – Helps readers move from complacency to sanctity, from monotony to meaning through the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
Where I Stand by Emily Ann – World War I tests the limits of class and the depths of the human heart, revealing how courage, sacrifice, and unexpected love can rise from the ashes of a divided world.
The Caregiver at Wounded Knee by Debby Lee – An Oglala Sioux nurse is torn between two brothers—one who seeks to appease the government and one who fights to cling to the old ways at all costs.
Operation Scarlet by Rachel McMillan – A World War II revolutionary story with wit, romance, and the spirit of swashbuckling heroism that transcends wars and centuries.

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