Pope Leo XIV Challenges AI: An Encyclical for Humanity

A Significant Meeting with the Pope

Last November, during a private audience, I had the opportunity to discuss with Pope Leo XIV the dignity of children in the age of artificial intelligence. When I asked him if he was comfortable with the idea of AI becoming the operating system of human life, he took a moment to reflect before responding with a simple "no." This concise yet profound answer opened the door to deeper reflection on the potential impact of AI on society.

A Historic Encyclical

On May 15, Pope Leo XIV signed Magnifica Humanitas, his first encyclical dedicated to artificial intelligence and the protection of human dignity. This document will be published next week, marking a symbolic moment as it is signed exactly 135 years after Rerum Novarum by Leo XIII. The latter provided a moral framework for the industrial revolution, and the choice of this date underscores the intention to draw a parallel between these two periods of major transformation.

Lessons from the Past

Rerum Novarum arrived at a time when the consequences of the industrial revolution were already visible: worker exploitation, community destruction, and child suffering. The moral framework proposed by this document came too late to prevent these harms. Today, the Church seeks to avoid repeating this mistake by intervening earlier in the development of AI to prevent similar consequences.

The Scope of the AI Revolution

AI experts, such as Demis Hassabis from Google, founder of DeepMind and one of the architects of modern artificial intelligence, believe that the impact of AI could be ten times greater than that of the industrial revolution, and at a tenfold speed. Dario Amodei from Anthropic speaks of systems that could surpass human capabilities in almost every field within a few years. Sam Altman from OpenAI even mentions the need for a new social contract, akin to the New Deal, to address these changes.

A Crucial Decision Window

If these predictions come true, the decisions made today will determine the conditions of human life for future generations. AI promises more than just increased productivity: it could expand human capabilities and democratize access to scientific progress, provided that the values embedded in these technologies are well chosen. This potential for expanding civilization relies on compressing decades of scientific progress and extending human capabilities to those who have never had access.

The Importance of Embedded Values

The success of AI will depend on the values that are integrated into its systems. Currently, these decisions are made by a small circle, without the participation of the most affected communities. The absence of moral frameworks could lead to unforeseen consequences. The values embedded in the systems being built, the diversity of voices shaping them, and the frameworks governing their deployment are crucial to ensure that AI serves humanity as a whole.

A Necessary Dialogue

The Faith-AI Covenant project aims to bridge this gap by initiating a dialogue between AI companies and global religious traditions. The goal is not to stifle innovation but to bring millennia of wisdom into the conversation about AI, while critical decisions can still be influenced. This structured dialogue on the values that should govern this technology is essential to bring the trust and moral authority that faith communities have gained over millennia.

A Promising First Roundtable

Last month, in New York, a roundtable brought together representatives from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI with religious leaders from various traditions. These discussions provided a unique perspective, highlighting the trust that faith communities can offer, a trust that the tech sector cannot create alone. Faith leaders bring something that the tech sector cannot manufacture: the trust of billions of people who are not asking whether AI is impressive, but whether it is just and whether it will leave their communities behind or help them advance.

A Clear Global Message

The encyclical sends a strong message to governments, investors, and tech companies: human dignity is a priority for a community of nearly 1.5 billion people. This time, the moral framework is being established before the structures of AI become irreversibly set. Rerum Novarum changed the trajectory of the industrial revolution, but it arrived too late for those who needed it most. Today, the Church hopes that Magnifica Humanitas can influence the development of AI before its structures become too entrenched to be redirected.