Pope Leo calls AI a test of humanity’s moral direction in message to tech leaders

Pope Leo XIV has urged tech leaders worldwide to build artificial intelligence models that respect human dignity. The Pope has once again stepped into the global debate over artificial intelligence, highlighting the emerging technology as a test of humanity’s moral direction.

The post on X is the Pope’s first message on AI since assuming the position of the head of the Catholic Church back in May. He mentioned that AI development is a part of a larger struggle over who we become when we build systems that learn, decide, and operate at a global scale.

“Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation. It carries an ethical and spiritual weight, for every design choice expresses a vision of humanity,” The Pope said.

Pope Leo XIV wants responsible AI deployment

The Pope, in his message, urged AI builders to consider moral discernment when building their models. “The Church therefore calls all builders of AI to cultivate moral discernment as a fundamental part of their work—to develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life,” he added.

Since becoming the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo has made several comments directed at the artificial intelligence community and its builders.

In May, the newly elected Pope revealed that he chose the name in reference to Pope Leo XIII, who addressed the consequences of the Industrial Revolution in May 1981. In his inaugural address, he mentioned that the church would act as a guide in response to “developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice, and labour.”

Pope Leo’s comments echoed Antiqua et Nova, the Vatican’s teaching in January on artificial intelligence and human intelligence. The document highlighted that AI can produce sophisticated results but lacks real thoughts, lived experience, and moral judgment. It warned that without firm human oversight, the technology could worsen inequality, increase misinformation, expand surveillance, and weaken important human relationships.

In July, the Vatican released a message on behalf of the Pope urging world leaders to approach artificial intelligence with ethically grounded and human-centered governance. The message to the AI for Good Summit 2025 called for AI models and systems that protect human dignity, strengthen global cooperation, and serve the greater good of the global population. Pope Leo’s message supports the position of the Vatican since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 under his predecessor, Pope Francis.

During the time that OpenAI launched ChatGPT, Pope Francis wrote that progress in information technology and digital technologies “have already begun to effect profound transformations in global society and its various dynamics.”

Like Pope Francis, Pope Leo drew a line from the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution to the rise of AI. He noted that the technology will reshape the world, but those in charge of the models should ensure that it doesn’t redefine what it takes to be human.

The Pope’s remarks on AI align with broader global concerns over its societal impacts. The topic has surfaced in many controversies in the past few years. Those AI ethics controversies are visible in cases like deceptive academic experiments using AI personas on Reddit, generative AI tools for cheating in education, and censorship practices by image-generation platforms like Midjourney, which blocked political figures like China’s Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile, countries are now moving to set up safeguards and regulations to check the activities of artificial intelligence and the companies behind it. As reported by Cryptopolitan, India recently announced the formation of a governance group and an expert panel that would develop policies and regulations for the technology. The country has also tapped several agencies, noting that they will help create strategies and implement AI policies.

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