The morality of AI: Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical
On 25 May 2026, Pope Leo XIV presented his inaugural encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), a landmark document addressing human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. Unusually, he presented the document himself at the Vatican alongside Christopher Olah, co-founder of US AI giant Anthropic.
What the encyclical says
The Pope’s message was decisive: AI must be disarmed.
The encyclical places AI squarely within the tradition of Catholic social teaching – the same body of thought that emerged from Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum in 1891, which addressed workers' rights and the limits of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution. Pope Leo XIV signed Magnifica Humanitas on 15 May 2026, exactly 135 years to the day after that foundational text, drawing a deliberate parallel between the existential questions of the Industrial Revolution and those posed by AI today.
The encyclical covers several critical themes, presenting arguments centred on the value of human beings. Firstly, the role of advanced technology is helping to create “new digital slaveries”, giving the example of the many jobs in third world countries which exploit workers employed to test and feed information to AI models. Secondly, the use of AI to reduce human control of weaponry in warfare risks sparking conflict more quickly; the threshold to both engage in violence and witness its consequences is far lower, and risks “reducing victims to data”. Thirdly, AI’s impact on politics – particularly the manipulation of images and videos which expose people to biased or misleading perspectives.
Perhaps most notably, in the encyclical the Pope appealed directly to AI developers, explaining that they bear the initial responsibility for ensuring artificial intelligence is created and used ethically. He called on developers to understand that “every design choice reflects a vision of humanity”, explaining that checks should be implemented to ensure that AI does not exploit human dignity. This sentiment was echoed by Christopher Olah in his speech.
Key implications
The Pope’s call to disarm AI is a powerful intervention in the ongoing debate about the pace and direction of AI development. The encyclical’s comparison of AI inaction to the delayed denunciation of slavery is a moral challenge to technology leaders who resist regulation. Whilst acknowledging both the promise and pitfalls of AI, the Pope placed developers’ responsibility at the centre of his message. By presenting the documents alongside Anthropic, a company which has been vocal about the safe development of artificial intelligence, the importance of regulation from within is clear.
The practical effectiveness of this intervention remains an open question. Pope Francis’s 2015 climate encyclical Laudato Si’ was met with a market lack of action. It could be that Pope Leo faces similar challenges in translating moral authority into concrete change in the face of rapid technological advance. Nevertheless, for companies and governments navigating an increasingly fragmented global regulatory landscape, the Vatican’s voice adds a powerful dimension to the conversation – one heard around the world – and frames AI governance not merely as a matter of economic efficiency, but of human dignity itself.
