VATICAN (Realist English). Pope Leo XIV, in his first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), has called for the “disarmament” of artificial intelligence. The Pontiff urged the introduction of strict international norms to prevent an AI arms race and to stop machines from being given the power over human life and death.
“AI needs to be disarmed”
In a 43,000-word document (about 83 pages), Leo XIV compared the current technological revolution to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, to which the Catholic Church responded with the encyclical “Rerum Novarum.”
“Artificial intelligence now needs to be disarmed, freed from the logic that turns it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,” the Pope declared. “To disarm does not mean to reject technology, but to prevent it from dominating humanity.”
Weapons beyond human control
The Pope expressed particular concern over the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). He drew a direct parallel between modern AI and nuclear weapons.
“Modern AI, in its logic as an instrument of domination, exclusion and death, is comparable to nuclear weapons,” the encyclical states.
“Some autonomous weapons systems have advanced practically beyond any human control. It is unacceptable to entrust lethal decisions to technology. Handing over decisions about human life and death to machine learning is a destructive spiral.”
“Arms race” and digital slavery
Leo XIV condemned the current “race for ever more powerful algorithms and ever larger data sets, driven by the desire for geopolitical or commercial domination.”
He called for limiting the monopolisation of technology, warning that “modern forms of property – in particular algorithms, patents, digital platforms and data – must be considered socially significant resources.”
The Pontiff also predicted a rise in inequality due to AI deployment:
“Without bold decisions, the prospect of greater poverty and inequality looms, when many people will be left marginalised, abandoned and surrounded by machines and automated systems that have replaced them.”
Criticism of “just war” and conflict with the Trump administration
The encyclical strikes at foreign policy doctrines previously used to justify military conflicts. The Pope declared that the theory of “just war” is outdated and cannot be applied today, and that “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable.”
He also expressed concern that “some leaders may view armed conflict as an effective way to divert attention from domestic problems and as a cynical tool of crisis management.”
Industry reaction
Present at the document’s launch in the Vatican was Chris Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, a company that is in legal dispute with the Pentagon over its refusal to allow its technology to be used for “lethal autonomous warfare” or mass surveillance.
Olah said the industry “operates within a system of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing.”
The Tower of Babel and the future of humanity
In a spiritual metaphor, the Pope compared the attempt to build a future on AI alone, without God, to the construction of the Tower of Babel.
He called for the creation of “reliable legal frameworks, independent oversight” and for slowing down the development race.
Experts believe that “Magnifica Humanitas” could become a document comparable in influence to Pope Francis’s 2015 climate encyclical “Laudato Si'” and will serve as a moral compass in the age of artificial intelligence.
