Pope urges ‘disarming’ of artificial intelligence in major manifesto

Pope Leo XIV has unveiled a major manifesto on artificial intelligence, urging the "disarming" of the technology and cautioning against "new forms of slavery" emerging from its rapid development.

“

Disarming AI means freeing it from the mentality of ‘armed’ competition.

In his first encyclical, titled "Magnifica Humanitas," presented at the Vatican, the Pope declared the "just war" theory outdated, particularly in the context of AI-directed weaponry. He asserted that it is "not permissible to entrust lethal" decisions to technology, stating that "no algorithm can make war morally acceptable." This stance positions him against the use of AI for autonomous warfare and mass surveillance, a point of contention even with ethical AI companies.

“

No algorithm can make war morally acceptable.

The pontiff criticized the global race for more powerful algorithms and larger datasets, driven by desires for geopolitical or commercial dominance. He called for "disarming AI" by freeing it from the mentality of "armed" competition. The Pope stressed that disarming AI does not mean rejecting technology but preventing it from dominating humanity. He advocated for AI to be "human-friendly," accessible to all, and open to discussion and debate.

“

To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.

"Magnifica Humanitas," signed on May 15, also references a wide range of cultural figures and historical documents, including a 1891 encyclical by Leo XIII that laid the foundations of the Church's social doctrine. The manifesto warns that behind the technological revolution lie new forms of slavery, and that every AI response, however flawless it may seem, relies on the often-unseen labor of millions, including content moderators and workers involved in data extraction.

“

Nothing in the world of AI is immaterial or magical.