Why the Pope cares so much about AI

As the governments of the West pivot away from regulating the world’s newest technology, the world’s oldest institution wants to step in. In his first official address to cardinals, Pope Leo XIV made curtailing the risks of runaway artificial intelligence a defining mission of his pontificate. The new pope warned of the dangers AI poses to “human dignity, justice and labor.” For the Vatican, AI and technology aren’t just side interests. The previous pope, Francis, weighed in extensively on the rise of AI. And the new pope explained in his address that his chosen name was a tribute to 19th century Pope Leo XIII, a thinker who helped the church update its message in a moment of immense technological change. Just as Leo XIII promoted workers’ rights in the world created by the Industrial Revolution, Leo XIV is positioning himself as a guardian of the social fabric in the face of unchecked modern technologies. “The church asks us to look to the heavens but also to walk on earth according to the times,” said Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar and the Vatican’s adviser on AI ethics, adding there was nothing unusual in the church offering expertise in such a futuristic field.