Pope Leo XIV on Monday used his first encyclical to warn that humanity is using artificial intelligence, mass automation and rapid technological advancement to build a modern “Tower of Babel,” sharing an apocalyptic vision of a world defined by greed, immorality and lack of respect for human life.
Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of his first Encyclical Letter "Magnifica Humanitas" focused on the rise of artificial intelligence, in The Vatican.
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The Pope issued an 83-page or open letter, titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity) on Monday weighing in on capitalism, immigration and technological ambition in a statement already being described as one of the boldest encyclicals in decades.
The Catholic leader focused much of his address on the rapid advancement and implementation of artificial intelligence, theorizing tech companies are becoming more powerful than governments and warning the AI economy is akin to slavery and will create "second-class humans.”
Pope Leo issued his gravest warning by suggesting humanity is at risk of constructing a new “Tower of Babel,” a biblical story in which God intervened to stop human arrogance and overreach by confusing language and fracturing unity.
As the pope describes it, humanity is building technological systems it will not be able to control for long that will ultimately widen the gap between the poor and elite, erode empathy and create different classes of human worth.
The Pope also used his letter to issue the strongest papal condemnation of anti-migrant politics in years, sharply criticize modern capitalism and suggest climate destruction is a moral crime against the poor.
As technology continues to develop, the Pope said humanity is facing a choice to either “construct a new Tower of Babel, or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” The biblical story tells of a human effort to build a city putting humanity on par with the divine. "When a city is built on pride and the claim to self-sufficiency, communication breaks down, languages are confused and people no longer understand each other. The result is not unity, but dispersion. Babel thus reveals the limits of any effort that, however grandiose, arises from self-affirmation, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God’s blessing,” Pope Leo said. "We must, then, avoid the “Babel syndrome,” namely 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. The risk of dehumanization — of building a future that excludes God and reduces the other to a means — is an ancient and ever-new temptation that today takes on a technical guise."
The letter warns technological advancement could soon erode human freedom. "A further risk, less visible but no less serious, is that of social control made possible by the massive collection of data and use of algorithmic systems. When every action—movements, purchases, relationships and preferences—leaves a trace, a new form of power emerges, namely the power to profile, predict and influence behavior, often without individuals being fully aware of it," he wrote. "Freedom in the digital age is not merely a matter of interiority but also a public concern... At the root of these problems lies a technocratic and post-humanist mentality that tends to regard the human person as an object to be manipulated or a resource to be optimized, removing all safeguards against the unchecked pursuit of profit. What prevails is efficiency, rather than respect for freedom and human dignity. Some post-humanist currents even go so far as to envision “second-class” human beings, subordinate to the interests of elites who consider themselves superior.”
Pope Leo warned of using AI-powered weapons systems in war, postulating the technology will make the outcomes of conflict less subject to human control. "This violates the principle that armed force should be used only as a last resort in cases of legitimate self-defense. For this reason, the development and use of AI in warfare must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints, to guarantee respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life and to avoid a race to develop such arms," he said. "Sometimes there is talk of ‘artificial moral agents,’ as if machines were able to distinguish between right and wrong with greater consistency than a human being. Yet moral judgment cannot be reduced to calculation, for it involves conscience, personal responsibility and the recognition of the other as a person. Therefore, it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems. No algorithm can make war morally acceptable."
The letter quoted the character Gandalf from the works of “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien: “‘It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.’ The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization. For this reason, it is worthwhile pausing to reflect on some aspects of how we, each in our own way, can cooperate in building the civilization of love.”
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