In his first encyclical, the pontiff stated that artificial intelligence ‘is not morally neutral’ and warned of risks of dehumanization and impact on workers’ rights
O Pope Leo XIV called on humanity to fight against “mastery” of artificial intelligence (AI) in his first encyclical, published this Monday (25), a document that also denounces “dehumanization” and the concept of “just war”.
The 130-page text, with the title “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), addresses a variety of issues, such as the Church’s delay in condemning slavery and the impact of AI on the environment.
Encyclicals are documents addressed to all the faithful that establish the Church’s reference position on social, moral, political or theological issues.
Given the importance of the document, the pontiff presented it in person, alongside AI experts, including the co-founder of the company Anthropic, Christopher Olah.
“We cannot consider AI as morally neutral”, says the pope, who presents a request to “disarm” this technology and “prevent its domination over humans”.
Leo XIV also denounces that the control of platforms, infrastructure and data “is not the prerogative of States, but of large economic and technological actors who, in fact, determine the conditions of access”.
Citing, among others, Plato and JRR Tolkien for their fight against dehumanization, the American pope criticizes the “new forms of slavery” for extract the resources needed for AI and calls for more sustainable technological solutions “to reduce the impact on the environment and take care of our common Home”.
“In some regions of the world, teenagers and children work in dangerous conditions crushing the materials from which rare earths are obtained,” a group of metals essential for modern technology.
“Bodies marked, mutilated, worn out so that the flow of calculations is not interrupted”, denounces the pope.
Against ‘just wars’
The bishop of Rome also takes advantage of the encyclical to ask “forgiveness” for the Church’s historical delay in condemning slavery.
In addition to technological challenges, the pope warns about the risk of “dehumanization”, warning against a vision of human beings reduced to their performance or to data exploited by machines.
Since his election a year ago, the first American pope in history has intensified warnings about the dangers of AI, particularly its use in the military, and the need for “digital literacy”.
“No algorithm can make war morally acceptable,” writes Leão in the encyclical.
Analysts believe that the impact of “Magnifica Humanitas” could be comparable to that of the 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si” (“Praised Be You”), in which Pope Francis addressed the ecological issue and which triggered a wave of reactions around the world.
Without mentioning names, the pontiff reiterates the need to “overcome the ‘just war’ theory”a concept defended, among others, by the American government of Donald Trump, and laments that “humanity is sliding towards a violent culture of power”, which normalizes war as an “instrument of international politics”.
In April, the White House criticized the Pope for stating that “God does not hear the prayers of those who wage war”, in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.
In a press conference this Monday, the pope explained that the text emerged from “listening”, after dialoguing with scientists, engineers, political leaders, parents and teachers “concerned” about the young generations.
“We need more actors in the world — religious communities, civil society, researchers, governments — to do what His Holiness did here: take this seriously, examine it carefully and steer events in a better direction,” said Christopher Olah.
“Magnifica Humanitas” crowns several years of reflection within the Church on technologies related to AI.
In 2020, the Holy See launched, together with technology companies and academic institutions, the Rome Appeal for AI Ethics, in which defended technological development that respected human dignity.
