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Pope Issues Sweeping AI Encyclical Urging Regulation and Banning Lethal Machine Decisions

The Vatican framed Magnifica Humanitas as a moral and policy roadmap that aims to curb concentrated corporate power, protect work and press governments to set legal limits on artificial intelligence.

Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of "Magnifica humanitas", his first encyclical, focused on the rise of artificial intelligence, at the Vatican's Aula Nuova del Sinodo, May 25, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Overview

  • Pope Leo XIV released a 42,300‑word encyclical that demands stronger legal frameworks, independent oversight and slower deployment of powerful AI to protect human dignity and democratic life.
  • The text states it is "not permissible" to entrust irreversible, lethal decisions to AI and calls for transparency so humans remain accountable for military strikes and other life‑and‑death choices.
  • The document warns that automation risks mass job displacement and cultural harm to work, and it urges states to protect employment, retrain workers and distribute AI benefits for the common good.
  • The encyclical was presented at the Vatican on Monday, May 25, with Anthropic co‑founder Christopher Olah in attendance, a choice that highlighted Vatican engagement with industry even as Anthropic is litigating with the Trump administration.
  • Signed May 15 in the tradition of Rerum Novarum, the text links the AI moment to earlier Church social teaching, offers the Holy See’s first formal apology for the Church’s role in legitimizing slavery and positions the Vatican to shape coming international debates on AI governance, labor and military use.