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Pope Leo XIV warned of the risks of AI and unconstrained technological power in his first major papal document released on Monday. Magnifica Humanitas is the pope’s manifesto on “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” in which he discusses the dangers of AI-powered warfare, the effects of AI on labor, and the need for new legal and ethical frameworks to govern technology.
In his papal encyclical — a kind of open letter from the Catholic Church — Pope Leo stressed the economic and social upheaval that rapid AI adoption is creating, with inadequate protections for individuals that threaten human dignity. He compared the current era of AI to the Tower of Babel, saying society must “avoid the ‘Babel syndrome,’” which he defines as “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language — even a digital one — can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance.”
Pope Leo’s letter touches on major areas of modern life that AI has become deeply embedded in: job loss and labor generally, AI-powered warfare, and children being exposed to AI tools and content, among other topics. Above all, the encyclical calls for the dignity of humans to be a central part of decision-making and governance. The letter is an appeal for “moral and social discernment that safeguards the primacy of the human person, in order to ensure that it will always be human intelligence, with its conscience and freedom, that guides technical innovations and responsibly determines their use and limits,” Leo writes.
The letter, which runs more than 42,000 words, frames the call for “prudence, rigorous evaluation and even, at times, a slower pace in adopting AI” as “an exercise of responsible care for the human family.” Among some of the proposals:
A social criteria for introducing automation and AI, along with protections and retraining programs for workers
Humans, not opaque technological systems, should make decisions about when to use lethal force
Help for teachers and students to engage with new technology in responsible, critical, and creative ways
Transparency and accountability when algorithms are used to make decisions around hiring or access to services and opportunities
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