By Elsie Kamsiyochi
In a sweeping and deeply emotional appeal to world leaders, has issued one of the strongest warnings yet about the dangers posed by artificial intelligence, urging governments to slow the rapid pace of technological development and impose strict global regulations before humanity loses control.
In his first major encyclical — a landmark document considered one of the highest forms of papal teaching — Pope Leo warned that unchecked AI systems could fuel misinformation, intensify conflict, undermine human dignity, and even push the world toward what he described as a future of “unending war.” Released Monday at the Vatican, the nearly 43,000-word manifesto titled Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) outlines the pope’s vision for confronting the moral and political consequences of artificial intelligence in a rapidly changing world.
The pope’s message comes at a time when AI technologies are advancing at unprecedented speed, with governments and corporations racing to develop increasingly sophisticated systems. Pope Leo argued that society risks moving too quickly without adequate safeguards, warning that political institutions have failed to keep pace with technological acceleration.
“What is needed,” the pope wrote, “is a more active political involvement capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating.” He called for strong legal protections, independent oversight, ethical safeguards, and informed public participation to ensure AI remains under human control.
Warning Over Weapons Beyond Human Control
Among the pope’s strongest concerns was the growing use of artificial intelligence in warfare. Speaking at a Vatican conference launching the encyclical, Pope Leo warned that some autonomous weapons systems have already advanced to the point of being “practically beyond any human reach to govern them.”
He argued that allowing machines to make life-and-death decisions represents a dangerous moral boundary that humanity should never cross. According to the pope, lethal force must never be delegated entirely to algorithms or automated systems.
“Any use of artificial intelligence in warfare,” Leo stated, “must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints,” insisting it is morally unacceptable for AI systems to independently decide who lives or dies.
The Vatican event drew leading voices from the technology sector, including , co-founder of AI company , which develops the Claude family of AI systems. Olah welcomed the pope’s intervention, acknowledging that major AI companies face enormous commercial pressures that sometimes conflict with ethical responsibilities.
He admitted that even frontier AI labs struggle to balance innovation with public safety and stressed the importance of external accountability.
Calls for Governments to Step In
The first American pope also challenged the growing concentration of power among private technology firms. He warned against allowing ownership of massive AI datasets and critical technologies to remain solely in corporate hands, arguing that governments must take a stronger role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
Pope Leo called on policymakers to prioritize worker protections, defend children from harmful technological exposure, and cool the increasingly fierce competition between AI companies. He expressed concern that economic rivalries could encourage reckless development, where safety is sacrificed for speed and dominance.
Drawing parallels to the Industrial Revolution, Leo referenced the social teachings of his predecessor, , who famously defended workers’ rights in the late 19th century. Leo XIV suggested that humanity now faces a new industrial transformation — one capable of reshaping economies, labor, and social structures on a global scale.
He warned that AI’s rise could create “new forms of slavery,” particularly among workers manufacturing electronic devices and laborers extracting rare earth materials used in modern technology.
The pope painted a grim picture of child labor and dangerous working conditions in parts of the world supplying materials for smartphones, computers, and advanced computing systems, arguing that society often ignores the hidden human cost behind technological convenience.
A Broader Message Against War
Though focused primarily on AI, the encyclical also delivered a forceful condemnation of modern warfare. Pope Leo lamented what he described as an increasingly violent global culture, warning that peace is being treated less as a shared responsibility and more as a temporary pause between conflicts.
“The past 60 years,” the pope wrote, “have been marked by conflicts of astonishing brutality,” especially for civilian populations.
In one of the document’s most significant theological shifts, Leo strongly criticized the centuries-old “just war” doctrine — a traditional framework used by the Catholic Church to determine when military action may be morally justified.
Calling the doctrine outdated, the pope argued that it has too often been used to justify violence rather than prevent it.
“The ‘just war’ theory,” Leo wrote, “has all too often been used to justify any kind of war.”
He also warned that some political leaders may exploit military conflict to distract citizens from domestic crises, suggesting wars can sometimes become tools for political survival rather than national defense.
Church Apology Over Slavery
In a notable moment of historical reflection, Pope Leo addressed the Catholic Church’s role in transatlantic slavery, acknowledging that the Church failed to strongly condemn the practice for centuries.
Describing slavery as a “wound in Christian memory,” the pope issued a direct apology on behalf of the Church.
“For this,” Leo wrote, “in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
A Call to Humanity
Toward the conclusion of the encyclical, Pope Leo invoked the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, warning against humanity’s temptation to pursue unchecked ambition without moral guidance.
He argued that technological progress without ethical responsibility risks dividing society and deepening inequality. Yet despite the scale of the challenges, the pope urged people not to surrender to hopelessness.
“No one,” he emphasized, “is without responsibility.”
With Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo has placed himself firmly at the center of one of the defining debates of the modern age — whether artificial intelligence will ultimately serve humanity or destabilize it.
His message is clear: technological progress must remain guided by ethics, accountability, and human dignity before innovation outpaces humanity’s ability to control its consequences.
Source Reuters
Original article
Comments