AI must serve humanity, not surpass it: Pope Leo in his first encyclical

Pope Leo XIV has warned that 'humanity – in all its grandeur and woundedness – must never be replaced or surpassed' in the race to develop AI tools and systems. The warning comes in his first encyclical, entitled Magnifica Humanitas (magnificent humanity), subtitled: 'On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence'.

As an indication of the seriousness of the topic, which is expected to profoundly reshape human life, the Pope took the rare decision to introduce his encyclical in person yesterday, with representatives from Silicon Valley present including Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, creator of the Claude family of AI tools.

He signed it a few days earlier on the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum (Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour), written by Pope Leo XIII in the context of the Industrial Revolution. Like his 19th-century namesake, Pope Leo has used his first encyclical to focus on another industrial revolution and one of the most pressing challenges of facing humanity in the contemporary age.

Pope Leo signs his encyclical: Screenshot taken from the Vatican video of the event.

Babel syndrome

His opening lines laid out what he said was the pivotal choice: 'either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together'. The Biblical story of the Tower of Babel describes the hubris of a people who set out to build a tower to reach the sky. God confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other and they scatter around the world, leaving the tower unfinished.

In his encyclical Pope Leo says we must avoid Babel syndrome: 'Namely the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralises differences, and the pretense that a single language – even a digital one – can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance.'

Technology is not a solution to humanity’s problems, just as it is not inherently evil, he says. But it is never neutral 'because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it'.

He adds: 'Therefore, the primary choice is not between a "yes" or "no" to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence.'

A new situation

While technological developments have significantly improved people's lives over the centuries, with AI we find ourselves facing a new situation, he says in Magnifica Humanitas. AI is becoming woven into 'the fabric of daily life, shaping decision-making processes and deeply affecting the collective imagination', yet we cannot yet predict its impact or assess its long-term effect on both people and the common good.

The Pope warns that AI is not human but merely imitates certain functions of human intelligence: 'We must avoid the misconception of equating this type of "intelligence" with that of human beings... So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature though relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean.'

He called for the establishment of 'adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power', but added that 'we must realistically ask ourselves who holds this power today and how they use it.'

'We are living through a rapid phase of transition, a “change of era,” in which – while some are vying for the future of new technologies and others dedicate themselves to reflecting on the matter – most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best,' he says.

Crucial questions of conscience

'For this very reason, crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?'

Pope Leo invites everyone to join forces to work 'for the common good' and to 'remain human', following a courageous mentality of shared responsibility and communion, so that the world 'will come to recognise the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell'.

He urges us to establish standards for discernment such as the principles of Catholic social teaching: the dignity of the human person, the universal destination of goods, the preferential option for the poor, care for our common home and peace, and adds: 'Let us translate these standards into practices such as responsible planning, the assessment of human and social impact, the inclusion of the most vulnerable, the promotion of digital literacy and guiding research and industry toward justice and peace.'

• Read the 42,300-word encyclical in full.

• Read the Vatican's press release on the encyclical.