Pope Leo warns AI risks becoming tool of 'domination, exclusion and death' in new encyclical

Pope Leo unveiled the Vatican’s new encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," warning that artificial intelligence risks becoming a tool of "domination, exclusion and death" unless governments and institutions place moral limits on the rapidly developing technology.

The Vatican is formally entering the global debate over artificial intelligence as governments and tech companies race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems with limited international regulation.

The pontiff invoked Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum," which addressed worker exploitation during the Industrial Revolution, arguing that AI represents a similarly transformative moment threatening human dignity.

"Today we find ourselves facing a transformation of similar magnitude, with perhaps even greater consequences," the Pope said.

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The pope warned about increasingly autonomous weapons systems that are beyond meaningful human control. He also said AI systems could block access to healthcare, employment and security because of biased data. He compared AI governance to nuclear arms control.

"Like nuclear energy, it must be at the service of all and of the common good," he said.

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The pope said disarming AI alone is not enough and called on governments and institutions to "build" systems rooted in trust and human dignity. Recalling devastating floods in Peru, he said rebuilding means restoring trust and hope.

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The pope also laid out the church’s broader argument about humanity and technology.

"The person bears within him- or herself a freedom, an interiority and a vocation to love and worship that no machine can replace," he said.

The Vatican is attempting to insert moral theology into a largely secular technological arms race.

"Stay awake," the pope urged, warning humanity not to surrender moral judgment to machines.