Pope Leo XIV unveiled his first encyclical on Monday in Vatican City to address the moral and social challenges of artificial intelligence [1, 3].
The document, titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” marks a significant step in the Catholic Church's engagement with emerging technology. By framing AI as a moral crisis, the pontiff seeks to ensure that technological advancement does not supersede human dignity or widen global inequality [2, 3].
The encyclical focuses on the economic, political, and social risks associated with the rapid deployment of AI [1, 3]. Pope Leo XIV said the technology must serve humanity as a whole and not merely the interests of a powerful few [3]. He said there should be an increased dialogue between those researching AI and the wider global society to navigate these ethical dilemmas [1, 2].
Reports on the length of the document vary. One source identifies the encyclical as 83 pages [3], while another reports it is 100 pages [4].
The pontiff said the current state of AI is a moral crisis [2]. He said that the integration of these systems into daily life requires a foundation of ethics to prevent the marginalization of vulnerable populations [1, 3].
“AI must serve humanity, not the powerful few.”
This encyclical signals that the Vatican intends to act as a global moral arbiter during the AI transition. By emphasizing the risk of power concentration, the Church is aligning itself with critics of 'big tech' and advocating for a human-centric approach to regulation and development.
