Pope Leo XIV has released its first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on Monday, highlighting the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and its disastrous impacts on human dignity, global peace and social justice.
The primary focus of this landmark theological document is the unbridled use of AI in the real world. According to the Pope, technology should not rule humans; in fact it must be subordinated to them.
“Technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. AI developers, therefore, “bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility, for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity.” Leo wrote.
The Pontiff also warned the world against the concentration of power in the hands of a technocratic class. He urged the international community to reign in the development of AI as these models are responsible for spreading disinformation and exacerbating modern warfare.
Furthermore, he cautions that AI could become a modern-day “Tower of Babel”, a project fueled by the human desire for singular, absolute power.
By framing this biblical narrative as a warning against systems that prefer domination over humanity, he vouches for an inclusive development process that reflects a diversity of voices rather than a centralized, dehumanizing agenda.
Pope has called for robust legal frameworks, government oversight and active political involvement to tackle the growing threat of technology.
Redefining war and conflict
Pope Leo also repudiated the “Just War” theory by calling it outdated.
“The past 60 years have been marked by conflicts of astonishing brutality, often affecting civilian populations on a massive scale,” stated Leo.
He continued, “Humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power, where peace no longer appears as a responsibility to be taken on, but as a fragile interval between conflicts.”
In the document, he acknowledges the right to self-defense, but he emphasizes on the soft power, such as diplomacy, to resolve the conflicts instead of resorting to violence and barbarism.
On top of that the advent of AI has fundamentally changed the moral landscape of warfare.
Pope Leo XIV has explicitly condemned the use of lethal autonomous weapons, citing that “accountability must never be collapsed into the machine.” And the use of AI in warfare “must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints.”
Economic & social consequences of AI
According to Leo, AI can also worsen wealth inequality and structural unemployment.
“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,” he said.
He also links AI economy to modern slavery, highlighting how the workers are being exploited in the name of data labeling and digital colonialism. He has called for a fair tax system that safeguards the most vulnerable segments.
Discussing social justice, he stated, “It is important to move beyond the current metrics of development, such as GDP, since these metrics almost systematically neglect aspects essential to the overall wellbeing of people and the environment.”
