Pope Leo Warns AI Must Be ‘Disarmed’

The AI industry faces an additional challenge: convincing a pontiff who compared unchecked AI to slavery and colonialism that it can be trusted with humanity’s future. For executives already juggling regulators, lawsuits and investors demanding faster innovation, adding papal scrutiny to the list may feel like a fresh act of divine intervention. If Leo’s appeal goes unheeded, he risks finding himself in the same position as his predecessor on climate change.

Pope Leo XIV used the first major teaching document of his papacy to call for artificial intelligence to be “disarmed,” warning that unchecked technological development could create “new digital slaveries” and deepen forms of human exploitation.

In the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), released on Monday, Leo framed AI as one of the defining ethical challenges of the modern era and urged governments, technology companies and developers to place human dignity above commercial and geopolitical competition.

“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention,” Leo said in explaining his call to “disarm” AI.

The document marks the clearest statement yet of Leo’s approach to technology policy and builds on concerns raised by his predecessor, Pope Francis, over the social consequences of rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

Alongside warnings about AI, Leo delivered one of the Vatican’s most sweeping apologies for the Catholic Church’s historical role in slavery. Reflecting on the transatlantic slave trade and other forms of human bondage, he wrote that it was “impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many,” adding that he “sincerely asked for pardon” in the name of the Church.

The pope linked those historical abuses to contemporary risks posed by AI, arguing that societies could again become accustomed to systems that exploit human labor and reduce people to instruments of economic value.

He warned of parallels between traditional slavery and emerging forms of technological dependence, describing the possibility of “new digital slaveries” if AI systems are developed and deployed without adequate safeguards.

In an unusual move, Leo personally presented the encyclical at the Vatican alongside leading AI researchers, including Christopher Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic.

Speaking after the presentation, Olah acknowledged tensions between commercial incentives and ethical considerations within the industry.

“Every AI lab including his operated inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing,” Olah said.

He added that policymakers, religious leaders and society at large should play a central role in shaping AI governance. “The questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community, not just in their implications, but also in their nature.”

The encyclical delivers a direct challenge to political and corporate leaders, particularly on the use of AI in military systems. Leo argued that increasing autonomy in weapons systems undermines moral accountability and complicates traditional concepts of a just war.

“No algorithm can make war morally acceptable,” he wrote.

The pope said AI does not eliminate the “intrinsic inhumanity” of conflict and could instead accelerate violence by “lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data.”

Leo also criticized the growing use of AI-generated content in politics, warning that manipulated images and videos can distort public debate and expose citizens to misleading or biased narratives.

Drawing historical parallels, he suggested that today’s response to AI risks could be judged in the future much as societies now assess delayed opposition to slavery. The document also warns against “digital colonialism,” linking concerns over data extraction, technological dependence and unequal power relationships to abuses associated with the colonial era.

Addressing software developers directly, Leo said technological design choices carry profound moral implications.

“Developers bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility, for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity,” he wrote.

The Vatican has established a commission to advance the work outlined in the encyclical, though questions remain about the Church’s ability to influence a sector evolving faster than many regulatory frameworks. The challenge echoes Pope Francis’s efforts to mobilize action on climate change after his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, where subsequent progress fell short of Vatican expectations.

Leo’s intervention places the Roman Catholic Church among a growing group of institutions seeking greater oversight of artificial intelligence, as governments and companies race to develop increasingly powerful systems while grappling with concerns over misinformation, labor displacement, surveillance and autonomous weapons.

Stay ahead of the stories shaping our world. Subscribe to Impact Newswire for timely, curated insights on global tech, business, and innovation all in one place.

Dive deeper into the future with the Cause Effect 4.0 Podcast, where we explore the ideas, trends, and technologies driving the global AI conversation.

Got a story to share? Pitch it to us at info@impactnews-wire.com and reach the right audience worldwide