Pope Leo XIV has called for the “disarming” of artificial intelligence (AI), warning that “new forms of slavery” are tied to its rise, while the Catholic Church leader made the remarks in his first encyclical, titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), during a presentation at the Vatican. Encyclicals are one of the highest forms of teaching from a pontiff to the church’s 1.4 billion members.

Call for Political Involvement in AI Regulation

Leo emphasized that ownership of AI data must not be left solely in private hands. He called for policymakers to protect the rights of workers and ensure children are safe from the technology. The pope also urged for a reduction in the competition between AI companies. “What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating,” Leo said during the presentation.

The Catholic leader further called for “solid legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility.” He stated that AI must be “disarmed” and freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion, and death. “Like nuclear energy, it must be at the service of all and of the common good,” he said.

Collaboration with AI Experts

Monday’s encyclical, which spans nearly 43,, has been in the works since Pope Leo’s election a little more than a year ago. The pope presented the document alongside AI experts, including Christopher Olah, co-founder of US giant Anthropic. Anthropic is currently involved in a legal battle with the United States military after opposing the use of its technology for lethal autonomous warfare and mass surveillance.

At the presentation, Olah said AI companies operate “inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing.” He welcomed input from outside actors like the Catholic Church to “push events in a better direction.” He noted that “the questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community.”

Olah highlighted three areas he said require urgent attention: the risk of widespread job losses, the need to ensure that AI benefits are extended worldwide, and the unresolved question of how to interpret increasingly complex and sometimes opaque system behavior.

Critique of AI in Warfare

In the encyclical, Leo also raised concerns about AI-directed weaponry, stating it was “not permissible to entrust lethal” decisions to technology. The pope has repeatedly clashed with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran and its use of religion to justify conflict. Leo criticized the “just war” theory, which has been espoused by the administration of US President Donald Trump, as “outdated.” He added that “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable.”