Pope Leo XIV warned of machines “invading and conditioning” daily life and called for urgent education in ethical discernment and recognition of moral good to protect human dignity amid AI’s spread. He spoke to French leaders during a visit to France.
Leo has made AI’s impact a defining theme of his papacy. Shortly after his election, he said he chose his name partly because Leo XIII confronted the Industrial Revolution; the church now faces another industrial revolution driven by AI. In his first encyclical, Leo called for AI to be “disarmed” so it would not dominate humanity. Pope Francis had warned that AI could reduce humans to data points.
