FILE-Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of his first Encyclical Letter "Magnifica humanitas" at the Synod Hall on May 25, 2026 in Vatican City, Vatican. At the presentation of his first social encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. (Photo by Elisabetta …
Pope Leo XIV is calling for stout regulations of artificial intelligence and for developers with an expansive manifesto on protecting humankind as the technology affects everyday life.
The letter was long-awaited ever since the pope announced days after his election that he considered AI to be the biggest challenge facing humanity today.
What does Pope Leo discuss in his manifesto on AI?
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"Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity) is Pope Leo’s first official writing where he in part denounced the "culture of power" driving the AI race, especially in developing ever more sophisticated methods of remote warfare.
The pope also declared that it was "not permissible" to entrust irreversible, lethal decisions to AI systems, setting up another flash point between Leo and the Trump administration, which has worked to deregulate AI development.
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According to the AP, the Vatican chose to involve Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, as part of its effort to engage Silicon Valley in conversations over the human cost of AI.
However, in his letter, the pope constantly criticized the power and data in the hands of so few individuals in the private sector as a danger, particularly to children and the most vulnerable, and called for external regulation of their work.
The AP reported that Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah was open to the pope’s criticism and concern.
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Olah told the AP that such external checks were fundamental to the technology "going well" for humankind since there is so much on the line — "a real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale."
Anthropic is currently suing the Trump administration after it ordered all American agencies to stop using Anthropic’ s technology for its refusal to allow the U.S. military unrestricted use of it.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.