POPE Leo XIV has issued a stark warning to parents and educators, cautioning that the rising use of artificial intelligence chatbots among children risks “dulling” their intelligence and undermining their capacity for authentic human relationships.
He urged adults to “safeguard” childhood from the potential emotional and intellectual pitfalls of the digital age.
He argued that children must not come to view AI as an “oracle of all knowledge” or a substitute for real companions.
Pope Leo has made the ethical challenges of AI a central theme of his papacy, comparing the current digital shift to the industrial revolution of the 19th century.
He warned that a reliance on chatbots could “numb” the creativity and critical thinking of young people.
“We must not allow children to end up believing they can find in artificial intelligence chatbots their best friends,” Pope Leo said.
What the experts are saying
Digital expert: Prof Kathy Mills.
Australian Catholic University literacies and digital cultures Professor Kathy Mills says the pope has identified a “perplexing new frontier” for this generation.
Professor Mills, who has published extensively on digital culture subjects, warns that the human-like mimicry of these bots can mislead any unsuspecting person into thinking they had real emotions, but especially children.
She said in many cases, AI could appear more emotionally intelligent than humans because it could reflect personal data back to the user, which felt like they had remembered something about them.
“The emotions that we see in the chatbots are not real emotions,” Prof Mills said.
“They’re just synthetic displays or mimicry of emotions. That’s where the problem is, is that people can form social bonds and… it’s not a real person”.
This blurring of boundaries between human and machine can lead to “generational unfairness,” where today’s children are subject to a “datafication of childhood” that leaves a permanent digital footprint.
Unlike previous generations, children today are sharing personal details with AI that learns from them, often without adequate age restrictions or protections in place.
Uncanny: Ameca, a humanoid robot from Engineered Arts, interacts with attendees at the entrance to the U.K. pavilion during the CES 2022 show in Las Vegas, on January 6, 2022. Photo: OSV News/Steve Marcus, Reuters.
Recent data suggests the scale of this engagement is already significant.
Prof Mills said research indicated between 64 and 70 per cent of teenagers in Australia, the US, and the UK used AI chatbots.
In some demographics, as many as 81 per cent of children and teens have interacted with AI assistants or companions for schoolwork, advice or companionship.
Prof Mills also noted cases where depressed children received “negative messages” from chatbots that worsened their mental health.
Unlike a human adult who can recognise signs of distress and refer a child to a counsellor, a chatbot is limited by its programming.
“They can go down into a conversational burrow with the bot and not get the support that they need because it’s just a machine,” Prof Mills said.
She also pointed to research showing that children can become overly dependent on these “artificial agents,” sometimes even attempting to “nurture” the robot in return.
Safeguarding the future
Pope Leo urged children to rediscover the beauty of the world through the “universal language of love” and the “disarming power of a smile”.
He thanked educators for helping children “draw out the beauty within them” in an era dominated by digital interfaces.
To support families navigating this landscape, Prof Mills offered practical steps for parents:
Maintain Connection – Prioritise the parent-child relationship and make time to listen to their concerns.
Raise the Conversation – Talk to children about how AI works and address misconceptions they may have picked up from fiction or social media.
Teach ‘Synthetic’ Literacy – Ensure children understand that a robot’s displays of emotion are fake and cannot replace authentic friendships.
Monitor Access – Be aware of the chatbots and devices children have access to, particularly as many tools are integrated into standard search engines.
Prof Mills suggests that the Pope’s intervention comes at a critical time when regulation is struggling to keep pace with technological advancement.
She encouraged families to look toward community and school-based programmes that supported the emotional and mental well-being of children through real-world interaction.