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Pope Leo XIV has unveiled a sweeping new Vatican position on artificial intelligence, warning that unchecked AI development could deepen inequality, normalize warfare, and create “new forms of slavery” in the digital economy.
The pope presented the document himself at the Vatican on Monday, marking the first major encyclical of his papacy and signaling how central AI regulation has become to the Catholic Church’s global agenda. The event included Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, as the Vatican outlined plans to work more closely with AI developers on ethical oversight and governance.
In the encyclical, titled Magnifica Humanitas, Leo described AI as one of the defining moral and political challenges of the modern era. He warned that power over digital infrastructure and data is increasingly concentrated among a small number of technology companies, creating systems that can evade public accountability while amplifying manipulation, dependency, and inequality.
The pope also took direct aim at the growing use of AI in military systems, arguing that autonomous weapons must face “the most rigorous ethical constraints” to prevent technology from undermining human dignity and the sanctity of life. He cautioned that some AI-driven weapons systems are already moving beyond meaningful human control.
The Vatican’s involvement in AI governance has been steadily expanding over recent years through dialogue with major technology firms including Microsoft and Google. Leo’s latest intervention, however, represents the church’s strongest and most formal stance yet on the issue, elevating AI ethics into one of the defining priorities of his papacy.
Anthropic’s presence at the event also highlights the growing overlap between Silicon Valley and global institutions seeking influence over how advanced AI systems are developed. Olah acknowledged that commercial pressures inside AI companies can conflict with broader societal interests, arguing that governments, religious institutions, and civil society groups should all play a role in oversight.
The encyclical also linked AI disruption to broader labor concerns. Leo warned that large-scale automation could reshape work and deepen social instability if economic gains remain concentrated among a small number of corporations and countries.
Alongside the AI discussion, the pope issued one of the Catholic Church’s clearest acknowledgments of its historical role in slavery, calling it “a wound in Christian memory” and formally asking for pardon on behalf of the church.
The Vatican’s increasingly aggressive stance on AI ethics arrives as governments worldwide struggle to establish coherent rules for rapidly advancing generative AI systems. With regulators moving slowly and private companies racing ahead, institutions like the Vatican are attempting to position themselves as moral counterweights in debates over how much power AI companies should hold over society’s future.