Pope Leo XIV is placing the potential threats posed by artificial intelligence at the forefront of his papal agenda, marking AI’s challenges to humanity as a defining aspect of his leadership. His stance confronts head-on the technological industry, despite its recent efforts to establish closer relations with the Vatican.
The American-born pontiff has deliberately invoked the legacy of his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, the pope who championed workers’ rights during America’s Gilded Age—an era in the late 19th century characterized by rapid industrial growth and widespread economic inequality shaped by powerful industrialists.
In a recent address delivered before a gathering of cardinals, Pope Leo XIV affirmed his commitment to rely upon two millennia of Catholic social teaching to guide the Church’s response. He specifically pointed to artificial intelligence as the driving force behind today’s “industrial revolution,” emphasizing that AI technologies pose significant questions regarding human dignity, labor practices, and social justice.
This strong position from Pope Leo comes amid intensive diplomatic outreach by the technology sector, with firms like Google, Microsoft, Cisco, and other major industry players repeatedly dispatching executives to the Holy See in attempts to influence Vatican discussions around technology regulation and policy. In contrast to industry positions, which generally resist strict controls for fear of limiting innovation, the Vatican under Pope Leo has advocated for a comprehensive, binding international treaty designed to regulate artificial intelligence and mitigate risks to humanity.
