Tags: Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on Monday, calling for safeguards around artificial intelligence. The 200‑page document, presented with Anthropic co‑founder Chris Olah, warns that AI amplifies existing power imbalances and urges clear criteria, public oversight, and an end to the AI arms race. It references historical concerns about concentrated economic power and cites recent political moves, including President Donald Trump's delayed AI executive order and tech‑elite lobbying. Notre Dame law professor Paolo Carozza warned that AI‑driven misinformation threatens democratic discourse. Read more

On May 15, Pope Leo XIV signed 'Magnifica Humanitas,' the Vatican's first encyclical dedicated to artificial intelligence and the protection of human dignity. Published ten days later, the document arrives exactly 135 years after Leo XIII released 'Rerum Novarum,' which framed the industrial revolution’s moral questions. In the encyclical, the Pope calls for a values‑based framework to guide AI development, warning that current decisions will shape generations. The Vatican’s initiative coincides with a recent Faith‑AI Covenant roundtable that brought together AI leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepMind with senior religious figures. Read more

Researcher John-Clark Levin is leading a quiet effort to bring the Vatican into the conversation on artificial general intelligence (AGI). By assembling a loosely organized group of academics, scientists, policy experts, and clergy—dubbed the “AI Avengers”—Levin aims to persuade Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See to treat AGI as a distinct, urgent issue rather than a subset of broader AI concerns. His strategy includes participation in Vatican‑hosted AI ethics forums, side‑event workshops on AGI, and the delivery of a concise letter to the Pope’s office. While the Vatican has shown openness to AI topics, Levin’s push for a formal scientific consultation on AGI remains in its early stages. Read more

Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, has refused to green‑light a plan that would let Catholics interact with an artificial‑intelligence version of him online. While warning that AI could endanger children’s development and threaten human dignity, justice and labor, the pope emphasized that he is not opposed to the technology outright. He highlighted the medical breakthroughs enabled by AI and called for strong regulation to prevent a "fake world" from eroding truth. Read more