Pope Leo Calls for AI to be 'Disarmed' in Historic Encyclical on Digital Exploitation

Summary

Pope Leo has released his first major teaching document, titled 'Magnifica Humanitas' (Magnificent Humanity), in which he calls for artificial intelligence to be 'disarmed' and issues stark warnings about the technology's potential to create 'new digital slaveries.' The Pope deliberately chose forceful language to attract attention and drew explicit parallels between historical slavery and the exploitation risks posed by AI in both its production and applications, suggesting humanity faces a critical moral crossroads comparable to past eras of human exploitation.

The encyclical includes the Vatican's strongest and most comprehensive apology for the Catholic Church's role in slavery, which Pope Leo connected to emerging digital exploitation concerns. The document condemns AI use in warfare, stating that 'no algorithm can make war morally acceptable' and warning against an AI arms race that reduces human control over weaponry. Pope Leo also criticized AI's misuse in politics, particularly its role in manipulating images and videos to spread biased or misleading perspectives, and warned against the risks of 'digital colonialism.'

Notably, Pope Leo presented the encyclical himself at the Vatican alongside AI experts including Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic. Olah acknowledged that AI companies operate 'inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing,' and emphasized that questions raised by AI extend beyond the research community to broader societal considerations. The Pope's encyclical represents a direct appeal to AI developers and those in power to take responsibility for mitigating the technology's ethical risks.

• Vatican issues comprehensive apology for Church's role in slavery, connecting historical injustice to contemporary risks posed by AI misuse