Particle.news
Download on the App Store
15 ARTICLES
·
3w ago

Pope Leo XIV to Unveil AI Encyclical With Anthropic Co‑Founder at Vatican Event

The move signals a bid to shape global AI ethics through Catholic social teaching.

The Pope is unveiling a new commission on AI.
Pope Leo XIV delivers his blessing as he recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV delivers his blessing as he recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Image

Overview

  • Magnifica Humanitas, signed May 15 on the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, is set for release Monday, May 25, with the Vatican describing it as a guide to protecting the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.
  • Leo will break with custom by presenting the encyclical himself alongside Cardinals Víctor Manuel Fernández and Michael Czerny, theologians Anna Rowlands and Léocadie Lushombo, and Anthropic co‑founder Christopher Olah.
  • The Holy See launched a new AI commission Saturday, May 16, to coordinate policy and projects across Vatican offices, with a mandate to set internal use rules and share work among bodies including the Pontifical Academies for Life and Sciences.
  • News outlets highlight Olah’s role as notable and potentially fraught given the Trump administration’s order in February for agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology and the company’s ongoing lawsuit challenging that move.
  • The encyclical follows Leo’s recent warnings about autonomous weapons and truth distortion from AI, including a May 14 speech at Rome’s La Sapienza University calling today’s tech‑driven warfare a spiral of annihilation, and it could influence debates on labor, security, and AI oversight well beyond the Church.