Pope Leo XIV Issues First Major Document Warning Against AI Concentration and Military Use

Pope Leo XIV has issued "Magnifica Humanitas," his first major encyclical, warning against the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. The document calls for strict ethical constraints on military AI, rejects the "just war" theory as outdated, and warns against the concentration of AI power in the hands of a few tech companies. The Pope presented the text alongside Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, urging robust legal frameworks to govern the technology.

Pope Leo XIV AI encyclical

• ▪The encyclical includes an apology for the Catholic Church's delay in condemning slavery, calling it a "wound in Christian memory."
• ▪The encyclical, spanning nearly 43,000 words, is addressed to Catholics and "every person of goodwill."
• ▪In a break from tradition, Pope Leo XIV personally presented the encyclical at a Vatican event.
• ▪Pope Leo XIV issued his first major theological document, an encyclical titled "Magnifica Humanitas" ("Magnificent Humanity"), on May 25, 2026.
• ▪The document was signed on May 15, 2026, the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum."
• ▪The document decries "new forms of slavery," citing children working in dangerous conditions to extract rare earth elements for technological devices.

AI monopolistic control warnings

• ▪Pope Leo XIV warned that control of artificial intelligence must not be concentrated "in the hands of a few" major economic and technological actors.
• ▪The Pope called for ownership of AI data not to be left solely in private hands.
• ▪The Pope compared the risk of AI concentration to the biblical story of the "Tower of Babel," a plan that "dominates and ultimately dehumanizes."
• ▪The encyclical calls for "robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility" for AI.

AI warfare ethical constraints

• ▪Pope Leo XIV stated that the development and use of AI in warfare must be subject to "the most rigorous ethical constraints."
• ▪The document states it is "not permissible" to entrust AI systems with lethal decisions.
• ▪The encyclical warns that AI is fueling world conflicts and helping to facilitate the "normalisation of war."
• ▪The Pope expressed concern that some autonomous weapons systems have advanced "practically beyond any human reach to govern them."
• ▪The Pope urged the "disarming" of AI, defining it as freeing the technology from a mentality of "armed" competition and making it "human-friendly."

Just war doctrine rejection

• ▪The Pope wrote that the "just war" theory has "all too often been used to justify any kind of war."
• ▪The encyclical states that military force is only justifiable for "self-defense in the strictest sense."
• ▪Pope Leo XIV declared that the Christian "just war" theory, used by the Church since at least the fifth century, is "now outdated."

Transhumanism posthumanism critique

• ▪Pope Leo XIV writes that AI cannot be considered "morally neutral" because every tool embodies choices and priorities.
• ▪The encyclical critiques "transhumanism," the idea that technology can help people overcome biological limitations like aging.

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