Pope Leo XIV has issued a major encyclical directly targeting the trajectory of artificial intelligence, framing it as an existential risk to humanity that demands immediate political intervention. Key demands include slowing the pace of AI advancement, implementing independent oversight, protecting workers and children, and preventing private companies from monopolizing AI data ownership. He explicitly calls on AI firms to “cool competition” amid commercial pressures.
A central warning is that certain autonomous weapons systems have advanced “practically beyond any human reach to govern them,” raising the specter of unending war driven by AI-enabled conflict. The pope directly repudiates the centuries-old “just war” theory, stating it has become outdated and is too often used to justify aggression. This is particularly pointed given recent U.S. actions in Iran and statements by Catholic Vice President JD Vance.
The document also addresses supply-chain exploitation in AI hardware (rare earths, child labor) as “new forms of slavery” and includes a formal apology for the Church’s historical role in transatlantic slavery. The launch event included Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, who acknowledged internal industry tensions between commercial incentives and ethical behavior.
This is one of the most high-profile moral interventions into technology policy in recent history, coming from an institution with 1.4 billion followers and significant soft power across the Global South and Western elites. It blends traditional Catholic social teaching with a forceful stance on 21st-century technological risks.
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