Pope Leo XIV's First Encyclical Demands AI Regulation to Protect Workers and Stop Endless War

Pope Leo XIV urged governments to slow down the development of AI systems in the first encyclical of his papacy, warning that they spread misinformation, prioritize conflict, and risk leading the world down a path of unending war. The document, Magnifica Humanitas, focuses on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. Leo decried what he called "new forms of slavery" endured by people tending AI systems and factory workers who produce technological devices. History's first U.S.-born pope, whose family history includes both enslaved people and slave owners, also delivered a historic apology for the Holy See's own role in legitimizing slavery. Speaking at the Vatican, Anthropic's Canadian co-founder Chris Olah said AI development cannot be left solely to technology companies, urging greater oversight from religious leaders, governments, and civil society. Encyclicals are one of the highest forms of teaching from a pontiff to the Church's 1.4 billion members.

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