Vatican under Pope Leo XIV warns against AI ‘playing God,’ urges ethical development

The new leader of the Catholic world, Pope Leo XIV, has made reducing the risks of “uncontrolled artificial intelligence” the defining mission of his papacy.

In his first official address to the cardinals, the new Pope warned against the dangers artificial intelligence poses to “human dignity, justice, and labor.” Two days later, speaking to journalists, he praised the technology’s “immense potential” while also emphasizing the responsibility to “ensure it is used for the benefit of all people.”

Like Pope Leo XIII, whose name he took and who called for “restructuring” relations between workers and capital during the industrial revolution in the last quarter of the 19th century, Leo XIV positions himself as a “guardian of the social fabric” against uncontrolled modern technologies.

Indeed, the new Pope had said he took this name pointing to the role of his predecessor, who published the famous papal encyclical Rerum Novarum, in “social matters.”

Franciscan friar Paolo Benanti, a Vatican advisor on artificial intelligence ethics, told POLITICO, “The Church asks us to look to the heavens, but also to walk on earth as the times require,” adding that it is not unusual for the church to offer expertise in such a futuristic field.

Maria Savona, an AI expert and professor of innovation economics at Luiss University in Rome and the University of Sussex, stated, “The Vatican wants to avoid certain AI developments that could harm human rights and dignity and disproportionately affect low-skilled workers.”

The Vatican’s efforts to secure a place for itself in artificial intelligence regulation began with Leo’s predecessor. In 2020, Pope Francis brought together technology companies like IBM and Cisco, as well as religious and political leaders, to sign the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a commitment to developing artificial intelligence technologies that are “accountable and benefit society.”

In January, the Vatican issued an official statement warning that artificial intelligence could lead humanity to become a “slave to its own work.”

Leo, the first pope from the US—the homeland of Silicon Valley and the tech revolution—and a mathematics graduate, is in a “unique position” to carry this banner, according to POLITICO.

Meanwhile, Washington is spearheading a deregulation move in the AI field. President Donald Trump rolled back the security rules set by his predecessor, Joe Biden, and announced a half-trillion-dollar AI plan with leading company OpenAI.

According to Benanti, the church’s role as an “expert in humanity” can encourage leaders, especially in Catholic countries, to “create AI that values people and aligns with social justice.”

In Leo’s first meeting with Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, the two pledged to continue working for “ethical and human-centered artificial intelligence development.” Last year, at Meloni’s invitation, Francis had addressed G7 leaders on artificial intelligence ethics.

Savona commented, “The Vatican’s interest in artificial intelligence is not strange. Francis also showed great interest in climate change, one of today’s significant problems. The Church’s mission is to adapt to the world while remaining true to its fundamental principles.”

Savona argued that as power concentrates in the hands of tech giants and wealthy nations, the Vatican could use its network in the “Global South” to ensure “more democratic access” to artificial intelligence and push for European-dominated regulations to be adapted to global standards.

On the other hand, Leo himself has fallen victim to AI-generated content. In the first week of his papacy, a YouTube video was published allegedly showing Leo praising Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré for contrasting the Vatican’s wealth with poverty in Africa.

The Vatican stated that the video was a “deepfake” and part of a recent wave of AI-generated content on African platforms glorifying Traoré as an example of pan-African leadership.