Pope Leo Puts AI Warnings at the Heart of His Papacy

The Vatican's concern over artificial intelligence long predates the alarm raised by major American technology firms, and Pope Leo has placed the issue at the centre of his 16-month-old papacy.

The pope, who in May issued his first major document calling for global rules to govern the industry, is expected to speak about AI again on Friday at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations' culture and education body.

Rev. Paolo Benanti, a leading Vatican adviser on AI, said the Holy See's engagement with the technology did not begin recently. "This is not happening on day zero for the Holy See," he said, referring to recent calls for a slowdown endorsed by the heads of several AI companies.

Benanti said the transformative power of AI could bring about societal changes that are very hard to predict. He declined to disclose details of confidential discussions at an AI summit hosted by Britain's King Charles, which he recently attended.

A recurring theme

Leo, the first US-born pope, first addressed the issue publicly on his third day in office. In his May appeal, he warned that AI systems spread misinformation, prioritise conflict and could lead the world towards unending war.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomat, repeated the call for international regulation at an event in Rome last week, saying countries cannot "go it alone" on the technology. "The future of humanity is really at stake here," he said, adding that the world needs common rules that can genuinely govern the phenomenon.

Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah spoke at the Vatican's launch event for the pope's May document, known as an encyclical. Asked about ongoing dialogue with AI firms, Benanti stressed the decentralised nature of the global church and said some discussions are being led by local bishops.

On September 16, the US bishops' conference said it had created a new AI taskforce after several of its leaders met with executives that day. A statement said the dialogue focused on keeping AI at the service of humanity and on the urgent need to address the real and present dangers the technology presents.

Weapons and oversight

The Vatican began warning about AI risks in 2019, hosting two conferences that year. The late Pope Francis told attendees at one of the events that misinformation spread by AI could spark a world war.

In 2020, the Vatican joined Microsoft, IBM, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the Italian government in a call for AI development that does not have as its sole goal greater profit or the gradual replacement of people in the workplace.

Leo has urged particular oversight of weapons systems, including those used in the Russia-Ukraine war. In his encyclical, he said such weapons have advanced practically beyond any human reach to govern them.

Benanti said the Vatican's advocacy against autonomous weaponry goes back decades, likening AI-powered drones to landmines that are indiscriminate with their targets. He compared the church's warnings about AI to its long-standing calls for nuclear disarmament.

"If nuclear weapons can destroy humanity ... the manipulation of generative AI content in social spaces can destroy the capabilities of people to stay together as a society," he said. "Nuclear weapons have to be stocked inside facilities and you can count and control them. AI is not this visible."