VATICAN CITY (CNN/CNN Newsource/WKRC) – Pope Leo XIV has warned against emotional bonds with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
Pope Leo XIV has issued a cautionary message about the potential dangers of forming emotional attachments with AI chatbots.
In a statement ahead of the Catholic Church’s World Day of Social Communications, the US-born pontiff highlighted the risks of overly “affectionate” chatbots, which he said could become “hidden architects of our emotional states.”
Pope Leo emphasized the need for regulation to prevent these AI companions from diluting human creativity and decision-making.
“As we scroll through our information feeds, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand whether we are interacting with other human beings, bots, or virtual influencers,” Pope Leo wrote.
The pope, who has been more digitally engaged than his predecessors, has made AI a focus of his papacy, calling for an ethical framework for the technology. He urged national governments and international bodies to regulate AI to protect people from emotional attachments and the spread of misleading content.
Pope Leo also stressed the importance of distinguishing between AI-generated content and human-created work, saying, “Authorship and sovereign ownership of the work of journalists and other content creators must be protected.”
He expressed concerns about the concentration of power among a “handful of companies” developing AI, noting that it “raises concerns” about their influence over behavior and history. The World Day of Social Communications, set for May 17, 2026, will focus on protecting human dignity amid technological advancements.