Pope Leo XIV escalated his warnings about artificial intelligence Tuesday, posting on X that powerful private actors cannot be allowed to control data and algorithms, one day after releasing an open letter urging governments and tech leaders to protect workers, children and human dignity from the disruptive effects of AI.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost arrives on the main central loggia balcony of the St Peter's Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost was on Thursday elected the first pope from the United States, the Vatican announced. A moderate who was close to Pope Francis and spent years as a missionary in Peru, he becomes the Catholic Church's 267th pontiff, taking the papal name Leo XIV. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
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The pope warned that decisions surrounding algorithms, data and digital platforms should not be controlled by a small group of powerful actors, arguing instead for broader global cooperation and public accountability.
He said a just digital society must protect vulnerable groups, combat misinformation and ensure technology is governed by human dignity and the common good rather than profit alone.
Leo also argued that algorithms, data and digital infrastructure should now be viewed as modern forms of property that require wider access and oversight to prevent deepening economic inequality.
He warned that concentrated control over technology and knowledge risks creating a new divide between those who can participate in the digital revolution and those left behind.
Crucial quote:
The pope wrote on X: “In the digital age, a just social order guarantees everyone equal access to opportunities, protects the youngest and weakest members of society, combats hate and misinformation and subjects the use of data and technology to public oversight, so that the guiding principle is not solely profit but the dignity of every person and the common good of all people.”
Background:
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, has quickly made artificial intelligence one of the defining issues of his papacy, positioning the Catholic Church as a moral counterweight to Silicon Valley's growing power. His newly released encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), is the most significant religious intervention in the AI debate to date, urging governments and technology leaders to ensure that innovation does not come at the expense of human dignity, labor, or social stability. In the document, Leo questioned where humanity is heading in the AI era and warned against allowing the technology to become a tool of “domination, exclusion and death,” even comparing the need to “disarm” AI systems to the church’s historical support for nuclear disarmament. The Vatican unveiled the document Monday during a highly produced presentation alongside Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah.
Tangent:
The AI document was released just hours after Pope Leo XIV issued a historic apology acknowledging the Vatican’s role in legitimizing slavery and its centuries-long failure to condemn the practice. While previous popes apologized for Christians’ involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Leo became the first pope to publicly recognize and apologize for the role past popes played in granting European rulers authority to enslave and subjugate non-Christians, describing the church’s history as a “wound in Christian memory.”
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