Pope Leo XIV wants to prevent AI from transforming into God

In 2025, Pope Leo XIV has made curtailing the risks of runaway AI a defining mission of his pontificate, Politico writes.

In his first official address to cardinals, he warned of the dangers of AI to “human dignity, justice and labor.” Two days later, speaking to reporters, he lauded the “immense potential” of technology while cautioning that it requires responsibility “to ensure that it can be used for the good of all.” Just like his namesake, the 19th century Pope Leo XIII, who promoted workers’ rights during the industrial revolution, Leo XIV is positioning himself as a guardian of the social fabric in the face of unchecked modern technologies.

“The church asks us to look to the heavens but also to walk on earth according to the times,” Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar and the Vatican’s adviser on AI ethics, told Politico, adding there was nothing unusual in the church’s offering expertise in such a futuristic field.

“The Vatican wants to avoid some developments in AI that would be damaging to human rights and human dignity, which would likely disproportionately impact lower skilled workers,” said Maria Savona, professor of economics of innovation at Luiss University in Rome and Sussex University and an expert in AI.

Ethicists, philosophers and tech moguls themselves have warned of the risks of companies creating intelligent life forms. Billionaire X owner and developer of AI bot Grok Elon Musk has cautioned against “summoning the demon” through the reckless development of artificial intelligence, likening it to the creation of “a digital God.”

In January the Vatican published a formal statement warning that AI could result in humanity’s becoming “enslaved to its own work.”

In Leo’s first call with Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, the two pledged to continue working toward “an ethical and human-centered development of artificial intelligence.”