Pope Leo XIV called for the "disarming" of artificial intelligence on Monday to prevent the technology from becoming a tool of global domination [1, 2].
The appeal marks a significant escalation in the Vatican's engagement with emerging technology, framing the development of AI not as a technical challenge but as a profound moral crisis. By urging the disarmament of these systems, the Pope is signaling that current regulatory frameworks may be insufficient to protect human dignity.
Speaking from Vatican City on May 25, the Pope said that AI could be used to facilitate exclusion, death, and new forms of slavery [1, 2, 3]. He urged for robust regulation of both the artificial intelligence systems and the human developers who create them [3].
"AI must be freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death," Pope Leo XIV said [1].
Reports on the delivery of the message vary, with some describing the statement as a long-awaited manifesto and others characterizing it as an encyclical [1, 3]. Despite these differences in format, the core message remains a warning against the perceived neutrality of the technology. The Pope said that the world cannot consider AI to be morally neutral [2].
He further argued that the disarmament of artificial intelligence is essential to prevent the rise of new forms of slavery [3]. This call for disarmament suggests a need to strip AI of capabilities that allow for autonomous harm or systemic oppression, a move that would require unprecedented international cooperation among tech giants and sovereign states.
The Pope's address comes amid growing global debate over the ethics of generative AI and autonomous weaponry. While some observers view the call as a policy request for stricter regulation, the Vatican's framing emphasizes a moral imperative to protect the vulnerable from algorithmic control [2].
“"AI must be freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death."”
The Vatican is positioning itself as a moral arbiter in the AI race, moving beyond general ethics to advocate for a 'disarmament' model similar to nuclear non-proliferation. This suggests the Holy See views AI as a potential existential threat to human agency and equality, signaling that it will push for international treaties rather than mere industry guidelines.
