Pope Leo XIV to unveil major AI ethics manifesto

Pope Leo XIV is set to publish his long-anticipated manifesto on artificial intelligence (AI) on Monday, aiming to confront the ethical and social challenges arising from the rapid global development of the technology, News.Az reports, citing AFP.

The US-born pope will personally attend the presentation of the encyclical titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity) at the Vatican, marking a first in the history of the Catholic Church.

He will be accompanied not only by senior officials of the Holy See but also by technology experts, including the co-founder of the American AI startup Anthropic, which is a major actor in the rapidly expanding AI industry.

Anthropic is currently involved in a legal dispute with the US military after it declined to revise its internal policy that prohibits the use of its Claude AI model for lethal autonomous weapons or mass surveillance purposes.

Pope Leo XIV has spoken out against the militarization of artificial intelligence, warning that “delegating decisions concerning the life and death of human beings to machines” leads to a “destructive spiral.”

Since his election a year ago as the Catholic Church’s first American pope, he has repeatedly cautioned about the risks posed by AI, including concerns over “the gradual replacement of reality by its simulation.”

He has also criticized what he described as the “environmental devastation” caused by the “frenzied race” to obtain rare earth elements, which are essential components in modern electronic technologies.

According to United Nations estimates, the AI industry could reach a value of up to $4.8 trillion (4.13 trillion euros) by 2033, representing a 25-fold increase over a decade, though its profits may become concentrated in the hands of a small number of actors.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres previously warned that “the window is closing to shape AI — for peace, for justice, for humanity.”

Pope Leo has made this issue a central focus of his papacy, dedicating his first encyclical to it — a formal document that sets out Church teaching and guides long-term theological and moral discussion.

Experts suggest that “Magnifica Humanitas” could have an impact comparable to Pope Francis’s “Laudato Si’” from 2015, which became a landmark environmental encyclical and sparked global political and social responses.

The Vatican views the new document as a continuation of its social doctrine focused on “protecting people in the AI era.”

It was signed on May 15, coinciding with the 135th anniversary of the 1891 encyclical by Leo XIII, which established the foundations of Catholic social teaching during the Industrial Revolution.

Marijana Grbesa, a political science professor at the University of Zagreb and a speaker at a Vatican AI conference, said the Industrial Revolution had significantly transformed labor markets, daily life, and global power structures.

“At the time, it was necessary to train individuals in the use of tools. The same is true today: we need to train and educate,” she told AFP.

She added that the pope is likely to stress that “education is not enough today,” calling instead for a broader societal awakening.

“It’s a wake-up call for the whole of civilisation,” urging humanity “to be rational when we use these tools.”

Pope Leo has also emphasized the importance of “digital literacy” in helping people understand how algorithms influence perceptions of reality.

Earlier in April, he warned that AI could be used to intensify “polarisation, conflict, fear, and violence.” In January, he also expressed concern about the “lack of transparency in the creation of the algorithms” behind widely used chatbots, whose global adoption continues to grow rapidly.

The publication of “Magnificent Humanity” follows several years of research and reflection within the Church on artificial intelligence and related technologies.

As early as 2020, the Holy See introduced the “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” urging that emerging technologies respect human dignity.

Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, also frequently addressed AI, calling for its regulation and warning that it could deepen existing social inequalities.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev