Pope Leo makes AI concerns the theme for World Day of Peace 2027

We've been writing and discussing AI a great deal in recent weeks. It's a sign of how fast artificial intelligence is developing and rising concerns among faith groups, writes Susie Weldon.

Six out of our last nine news stories have been about AI, not least because we held a very thought-provoking webinar on the subject three weeks ago... and, yes, here comes another one.

Pope Francis has chosen 'Disarming Technology, Serving Peace. Politics as Preventive Responsibility' as the theme for the 60th World Day of Peace, which will be held on January 1, 2027.

His decision follows his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), subtitled: 'On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence', published in May this year. In that encyclical, Pope Leo called for artificial intelligence to be 'disarmed' to free it from a mentality of military, economic, and cognitive competition that threatens human dignity and global peace.

Pope Leo waves to pilgrims in St Peter's Square, Rome. Photograph: Vatican Media

Announcing the theme for World Day of Peace 2027, the Vatican said Pope Leo 'wishes to draw attention to the moral responsibility of those called to serve in the public sphere'. It added that Pope Leo 'urges all people to uphold the dignity of the human person and to contribute to the building of peace, beginning by “disarming technology'.

The Vatican statement added: 'Recalling that "no algorithm can make war morally acceptable" (Magnifica Humanitas, 198), and warning of the risks involved in entrusting military decisions to artificial intelligence, Pope Leo makes a fervent appeal to the international community to foster shared agreements capable of safeguarding human responsibility and humanitarian principles in situations in which human life and peaceful coexistence among peoples are at stake.'

AI and Faith-Consistent Investors

As mentioned above, AI has been prominent in our thoughts and discussions recently. If your faith-based organisation is wondering what to do about AI but has not yet taken any action, we highly recommend that you watch our webinar.

As one of our speakers, Josh Zinner of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), made clear, AI risk is not a distant, existential question. The risks are right here, right now, and it's critical for faith-based investors to get up to speed on what this means for them.

Our other speakers were Barbara Ridpath, of the Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group; Umer Suleman, of the UK Islamic Finance Council. All had practical suggestions for how faith-consistent investors should think about AI in their investment decisions.

You can read our news story on the webinar which also includes our speakers' top tips for actions on AI that faith-consistent investors should take now. It also includes links to watch the video replay as well as to the downloadable transcript.

We'll also link below to some articles on AI that you might find useful.