Pope Leo calls for vigilant approach to artificial intelligence

Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical letter on Monday, calling for vigilance in the face of artificial intelligence and urging clarity throughout the development process, according to Vatican News.

Entitled "Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence," the pope's encyclical stressed the need to approach artificial intelligence with vigilance and called for clarity regarding responsibilities and accountability at every stage of development.

The pope also called for proper AI policies and legal frameworks, independent oversight, and user education.

He also stressed the need to avoid concentrating technologies in the hands of only a few people, urging fair access to opportunities for all.

The pontiff also stressed the need to protect the most vulnerable, combat hatred and disinformation, and ensure that the use of technology remains subject to public oversight, "so that the guiding principle is not solely profit but the dignity of every person and the common good of all people."

He further emphasized the need for an ethical framework for AI grounded in shared principles of social justice, arguing that "a more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few."

The pope also reiterated the need to disarm artificial intelligence to free it from the mentality of military, economic, and cognitive competition. "To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity."

"Humanity—in all its grandeur and woundedness—must never be replaced or surpassed," he added.

While reaffirming that technology can alleviate humanity's sufferings and open new possibilities, the pope warned against the denial of humanity's essence. He further warned that it should not lead to unemployment in the name of reducing costs and increasing profits.

"While AI promises to boost productivity by taking over mundane tasks, it frequently forces workers to adapt to the speed and demands of machines, rather than machines being designed to support those who work," he said.

The pope further cautioned against the use of weapons linked to AI, underlining, "There is no algorithm that can make war morally acceptable."

"AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed, it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data," he added.

The pontiff also underscored that the promotion of the common good should not be separated from respecting the right of peoples to exist and preserve their identity.

"Any attempt or plan to eliminate or subjugate a nation is gravely immoral and therefore unacceptable," he noted.