Local Catholic leaders and cybersecurity experts praised Pope Leo XIV’s first major writing addressing artificial intelligence and humanity.
Leo called Monday for a robust regulation of artificial intelligence and for its developers to work for the common good rather than profit, issuing a sweeping manifesto on safeguarding humankind as the technology impacts everything from work to war.
“Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), Leo’s first encyclical, has been eagerly awaited ever since history’s first U.S.-born pope announced days after his election that he considered AI to be the biggest challenge facing humanity today.
In the text, Leo denounced the “culture of power” driving the AI race, especially in developing ever more sophisticated methods of remote warfare. He declared that it was “not permissible” to entrust irreversible, lethal decisions to AI systems, setting up another flash point between the American pope and the Trump administration, which has worked aggressively to deregulate AI development.
“Artificial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,” the pope told a special Vatican presentation of the encyclical, one of the most authoritative types of teaching documents a pope can issue.
Leo has written “an exceptional lens through which to view artificial intelligence,” Bishop of Gary Robert McClory said.
“The encyclical is not just addressed to Catholics, but to the world, in this pivotal moment where technology has the potential to shape so many aspects of the human experience. Pope Leo challenges us to engage the exponential growth and use of artificial intelligence with integrity and concern for all of humanity,” McClory said.
McClory said he looks forward to discussing the document with the parish because it “will be an important guide for our parishes, schools and ministries.”
“Technological progress is a sign of human creativity,” McClory said. “With the opportunities presented by AI, discernment is needed to ensure such technology serves humanity, not vice versa.”
Leo appealed to AI developers and political leaders responsible for regulating them to slow down and reflect on what they are doing. He urged them to use ethical and spiritual guidelines to make the choice to work not for their own profit or power, but the betterment of humanity.
Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah welcomed Leo’s criticism and concern. He said such external checks were fundamental to the technology “going well” for humankind since there is so much at stake — “a real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale.”
In its strongest chapters, Leo denounced how AI had helped accelerate the “normalization of war” by desensitizing people to its cost. He didn’t name specific conflicts, but cited “opposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy.”
He demanded transparency and accountability by AI developers so that the chain of decision-making command in ordering strikes with AI weaponry is always known. He declared that the Catholic Church’s “just war” theory, which provides specific criteria for when force can be justified, was now “outdated” given the technological advances of warfare.
Concern has grown over on whether AI will become a catalyst that enriches humanity or a technological toxin that dulls human intelligence while wiping out millions of high-paying jobs.
“The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good,” Leo wrote.
Isak Asare, director of the cybersecurity and global policy program at Indiana University, said after reading the encyclical he felt the writing was “right on” the discussion around AI, specifically how AI has changed the way people interact with each other, think about one another and access information.
“What it means to be human, what it means to be a moral actor, all of those things are being challenged and questioned. I think that it’s really appropriate for spiritual leaders to way in on how we should be navigating all of these questions that are ultimately human questions,” Asare said. “It was timely and captures a lot of the core questions that we’re dealing with in this space.”
AI has become pervasive as it becomes more integrated in different industries, Asare said. In the Western part of the world, there are few elements of daily life that AI doesn’t touch, he said.
There’s a lot AI development could learn from theology and spiritual leaders, Asare said, because theology has spent centuries asking questions that technical fields don’t consider, like what is human, dignity, freedom and others.
“AI is not just a technical tool. It’s becoming a part of how institutions decide, teach, hire, police, persuade, diagnose, govern and ultimately distribute opportunity,” Asare said. “This is really at the core of what it means to be human now and it’s the right place for these questions to be coming from.”
Cecilia Cicone, digital media strategist for the Diocese of Gary, said the diocese parishes, schools and ministries have been looking for guidance on how to use AI.
“It’s clear how the technology can be misused,” Cicone said. “We have seen ‘bad actors’ use AI to imitate Church leaders to take advantage of the faithful. I hope Pope Leo’s call for regulation of the technology will inspire getting more safeguards in place to aid in distinguishing truth from falsehood.”
President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Archbishop Paul Coakley said in a statement that the U.S. church “welcomes” Leo’s encyclical “with gratitude and praise.”
“It is a powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive,” Coakley said.
The Associated Press contributed.
akukulka@post-trib.com