Pope Leo denounces culture of power' driving rise of AI

Pope Leo denounced a culture of power driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and warned that the technology must face the most rigorous ethical constraints as it spreads across work and war. He apologized for the Catholic Church’s long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as a wound in Christian memory, and warned about new forms of slavery enabled by the digital economy. He presented his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas at the Vatican, outlining priorities for safeguarding humankind. He warned of a revival of war as an instrument of international politics and said AI can facilitate the normalization of war. He also warned that control over digital systems, infrastructure, and data often lies with major economic and technological actors, leading to opacity, reduced oversight, and new dependencies and manipulation.

"Leo denounced the culture of power driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence while warning that the technology must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints as it infiltrates everything from work to war. In his encyclical, the first major text on safeguarding humankind of his papacy, Leo also apologised for the Catholic church's long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as a wound in Christian memory, while warning about the new forms of slavery due to the digital economy."

"In the document, called Magnifica Humanitas, Leo referred to a troubling revival of war as an instrument of international politics while warning that AI was helping to facilitate the normalisation of war. For this reason, the development and use of AI in warfare must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints, to guarantee respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life and to avoid a race to develop such arms, he wrote."

"Leo warned that power over digital systems, infrastructure and data does not rest with states but with major economic and technological actors, and that when such power was concentrated in the hands of the few it tended to become opaque and evade public oversight, increasing the risk of distorted forms of development that give rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulation."

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