CARLO PISANI
Full Professor of Labour Law, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
in
Lavoro Diritti Europa, No. 2/2026
“Yesterday, the Industrial Revolution. Today, the Artificial Intelligence Revolution. Today as Yesterday, a Pope Named Leo”; this is how Aldo Cazzullo effectively opens his introduction to a new edition of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, published on the occasion of Magnifica Humanitas. Between the two Encyclicals, other important texts have contributed to the Social Doctrine of the Church, among which Laborem Exercens by Pope John Paul II stands out. Like the present Encyclical, it emerged during a decisive turning point in history, namely the Third Industrial Revolution. Then, as now, labour scholars were called upon to reflect on the effects of technological innovation on work organisation, production processes, employment, professional skills and worker protection. Today, as in the past, labour law scholars must seek a fair balance between the needs of work and those of the economy, avoiding both the temptation to declare the end of one era and the uncritical acceptance of every new technological paradigm.