Topline<\/p>\n
Billionaire Peter Thiel attacked Pope Leo XIV and mocked the catholic leader by accusing him of being an agent of \u201cChinese Communists,\u201d in response to the pope\u2019s grave warnings about the impact of artificial intelligence if the technology is left unregulated by governments.<\/p>\n
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, attacked the Pope over his stance on artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.Key Facts<\/p>\n
According to CNN<\/a>, Thiel called out the pope while speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado earlier this week, while also claiming that the Democratic Party was under a \u201cdemocratic-socialist takeover.\u201d<\/p>\n Referring to the catholic leader\u2019s first encyclical, \u201cMagnifica Humanitas,\u201d Thiel said the Vatican\u2019s calls for regulation of artificial intelligence could slow down only one side in the U.S.-China AI race, as leaders in Beijing are less likely to listen to the pope\u2019s plea.<\/p>\n The billionaire then argued that in his mind, this meant Leo\u2014the first-ever American Pope\u2014was \u201cworking for the Chinese Communists.\u201d<\/p>\n The remarks reportedly triggered laughter from the audience.<\/p>\n Thiel is a long-time supporter of President Trump and a key backer of Vice President JD Vance, whose administration has been engaged in a public feud with the pope.<\/p>\n What Did The Pope Say In His Encyclical?<\/p>\n Pope Leo issued his first encyclical<\/a> in May this year, where he warned that the push to expand artificial intelligence use, mass automation, and tech advancements is being used to build a modern \u201cTower of Babel\u201d that reflects a world defined by greed, immorality and lack of respect for human life. The manifesto noted that while technology relieving humans of \u201carduous, repetitive or dangerous tasks\u201d and providing \u201cintelligent support\u201d was desirable, the \u201cpursuit of profits must not lead to choices that \u201csystematically sacrifice jobs.\u201d The pope\u2019s document also warned of the use of AI to \u201cconstruct distorted narratives\u201d and decried the deployment of autonomous weapons systems saying could make \u201cwar more \u2018feasible\u2019 and less subject to human control.\u201d<\/p>\n What Do We Know About The Pope\u2019s Feud With The White House?<\/p>\n The pope was among the most prominent global critics of the Trump administration\u2019s military actions, including its decision to go to war with Iran. After the war began, Leo warned that a \u201cspiral of violence\u201d could become \u201can unbridgeable chasm.\u201d The pope took an even firmer stance after Trump’s controversial Truth Social post, where he warned that a \u201cwhole civilization will die tonight,\u201d unless Iran agreed to his demands on ending the conflict. Leo called Trump\u2019s threat \u201ctruly unacceptable\u201d and added, \u201call attacks on civilian infrastructure is against international law.\u201d In an unprecedented move<\/a>, Trump then directly attacked the pope on social media, saying he was \u201cWEAK on Crime,\u201d and \u201cterrible for Foreign Policy.\u201d The president then said Leo should be \u201cthankful\u201d and claimed, without any evidence, that if he weren\u2019t in the White House, \u201cLeo wouldn\u2019t be in the Vatican.\u201d<\/p>\n Further reading<\/p>\n