Pope Leo XIV Opens France Visit With AI Warning and Call for Peace

Pope Leo XIV opened a four-day visit to France on Friday with a wide-ranging address at the Élysée Palace, warning that humanity risks losing itself in a "paradise of machines" and calling on France to act as a tireless advocate for peace.

Speaking to President Emmanuel Macron, clergy and officials, the pope said artificial intelligence had become a central concern of his first encyclical letter, which he said was intended to place the human person at the heart of reflection on technology. He stressed the need to train minds in ethical discernment so that people can recognise what is morally good, and warned that rapid technological change must not come at the cost of human freedom and dignity.

The pontiff also voiced concern about trends that divert science and technology towards profit-driven ends, citing genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the purchase of organs and what he described as the offer of a programmed death. Mutual respect and the protection of every human life, he said, are responsibilities shared by all.

On security, Pope Leo rejected the growing belief that nuclear weapons guarantee safety, saying it fuels a new and hard-to-control arms race. Peace, he argued, is not a balance of forces but is built daily through dialogue and justice, and he urged governments never to accept war as inevitable. Quoting his predecessor John XXI, he called for an end to the arms race and for the parallel and simultaneous reduction of existing armaments, with the prohibition of nuclear weapons and mutually agreed disarmament accompanied by effective controls.

Turning to France's international role, the pope said the country has a vocation to remain an indefatigable artisan of peace and multilateralism, particularly within Europe. He urged it to sow the seeds of a disarmed and disarming peace and to offer its irreplaceable contribution to the cause of peace.

He also spoke of the Middle East, asking how the region where the Prince of Peace was born could be discussed without thinking of populations affected by conflict and those afflicted by war. Such suffering, he said, wounds human dignity and cries out for justice.

In a lighter passage, the pope praised French expertise, noting the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and thanking Macron for his attention to the project. He added that France is often in the pope's prayers, recalling his Norman and Bernese family origins.

Later on Friday, the pope is due to visit UNESCO headquarters, celebrate vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and preside over a youth vigil at a Paris stadium.