By Pope Leo XIV has issued a sweeping call for strict global regulation of artificial intelligence, warning that unchecked AI development threatens human dignity, jobs and global peace.
In his first encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), released Monday, the pontiff described AI as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity and urged governments, developers and world leaders to ensure the technology serves the common good rather than corporate profit or military dominance.
The document marks the first major papal teaching focused entirely on artificial intelligence and positions the Vatican at the center of the growing global debate over the future of AI.
“Artificial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,” Pope Leo said during the Vatican presentation of the document.
The pope strongly condemned the use of AI in modern warfare, declaring it “not permissible” for irreversible lethal decisions to be entrusted to machines. He warned that increasingly sophisticated AI-driven military systems risk normalizing war and distancing societies from its human cost.
Without directly naming countries or conflicts, the pope criticized what he described as “opposing imperialisms” competing for technological supremacy, in comments likely to intensify tensions with governments pushing for rapid AI expansion and deregulation.
Pope Leo also warned against the growing concentration of data and technological power in the hands of a few major private corporations. He called for independent oversight and robust legal frameworks to regulate AI systems, arguing that ethical guidelines alone are insufficient.
“It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract,” he wrote. “Robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required.”
The encyclical comes amid mounting concerns that AI could replace millions of jobs, reshape economies and surpass human decision-making in critical sectors.
Referencing Catholic social teaching on workers’ rights and human dignity, Pope Leo argued that economic gains must never come at the expense of human labour.
“The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs,” he wrote, adding that “the human person is an end, not a means.”
The pope signed the document on May 15 to coincide with the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the landmark 1891 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII that addressed workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution.
Technology leaders, academics and ethicists described Magnifica Humanitas as a potentially defining intervention in the global AI debate.
Among those attending the Vatican launch was Christopher Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic, who welcomed the pope’s warning about the risks posed by artificial intelligence.
“We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend,” Olah said, warning that AI could displace human labour on a massive scale.
The Vatican has spent the past decade engaging Silicon Valley firms and technology experts as part of broader efforts to shape ethical discussions around emerging technologies.
In one of the encyclical’s most striking sections, Pope Leo also issued the first papal apology for the Catholic Church’s historic role in legitimizing slavery during European colonial expansion.
The document is expected to become a major reference point for policymakers, researchers and faith leaders as governments worldwide grapple with how to regulate rapidly advancing AI technologies.
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