Pope Leo XIV has published his first papal encyclical titled Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. In the nearly 43,000-word document, he warns of 'an arms race to create ever more powerful algorithms and larger data sets' driven by 'geopolitical or commercial ambitions of domination'.
Speaking at the Vatican alongside AI experts including Christopher Olah, co-founder of US-based Anthropic, the Pope stressed that AI must be 'disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death'. He drew a comparison: 'Like nuclear energy, AI must serve everyone and be for the common good.'
This marks the first time a pope has made opposition to Big Tech the central focus of an entire encyclical. Pope Francis previously addressed technology in conferences and part of his 2015 encyclical on the environment. Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 also warned that technology must not promote dehumanization.
AI in warfare and autonomous weapons
Pope Leo XIV specifically warned that AI is 'normalizing war'. In March 2026, the US military confirmed it had used 'multiple' AI tools in the US-Israel campaign against Iran, raising concerns over rising civilian casualties. In 2024, Israeli AI systems such as Lavender and Gospel were revealed to have helped generate thousands of military targets in Gaza.
'For this reason, the development and use of AI in war must be subject to the strictest ethical constraints,' he wrote, adding that 'it is unacceptable to delegate lethal decisions' to technology. The Pope also called the 'just war' theory endorsed by the administration of US President Donald Trump 'obsolete' and stressed that 'no algorithm can make war morally acceptable'.
Protecting workers and children
In the encyclical, the Pope emphasized that AI must not remain in the hands of the private sector, urging policymakers to protect workers' rights and keep children safe from technology. He issued a 'special appeal' to AI developers: 'Every design choice reflects a vision of humanity.'
He also called for 'strong legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibilities'. With Amazon—the second-largest private employer in the US—having laid off 16,000 employees in January 2026 due to AI, and The New York Times reporting the company plans to 'replace more than half a million jobs with robots', the Pope's warnings have become ever more urgent.
Apology for the Church's role in slavery
Alongside AI, the encyclical also addresses the Catholic Church's role in slavery. Pope Leo XIV offers a 'sincere apology' on behalf of the Vatican for 15th-century decrees that allowed Portuguese kings to conquer Africa and the Americas and to enslave non-Christians.
'It is impossible not to feel deep pain when contemplating the enormous suffering and humiliation endured by so many,' he wrote. 'This is a wound in Christian memory, a wound from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.'
Shannen Dee Williams, a historian at the University of Dayton (Ohio, US), called the apology a 'landmark step' toward truth and reparations.
