The Pope Warns About AI

The Pope Warns About AI

May 28, 2026

Pope Leo XIV’s criticism of AI in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, is not that AI is inherently bad. On the contrary, he acknowledges its enormous benefits. His concerns focus primarily on how AI may be used and on its broader societal consequences.

The key points are:

1. AI Concentrates Power

The Pope warns that AI could further concentrate power in the hands of a small number of large technology companies, governments, and economic elites.

2. Human Dignity Is Under Pressure

According to the Pope, there is a danger that people will increasingly be treated as datasets, consumers, or factors of production.

3. Loss of Critical Thinking

AI often provides quick answers. The Pope fears that this may lead people to think, analyze, and judge less for themselves.

4. Weakening of Human Relationships

He argues that technology must not replace genuine human encounters and relationships.

5. AI in Warfare

One of his strongest concerns relates to autonomous weapons. The Pope believes that machines should never be allowed to make independent decisions about life and death.

6. The Culture of Power

The Pope criticizes what he calls a “culture of power”: the belief that everything that is technically possible should also be done. He rejects technological determinism and the idea that progress should be measured solely in terms of efficiency, speed, and control.

In Summary

The Pope is not anti-AI. His message is rather:

AI must serve humanity, not replace it. Human dignity, work, freedom, community, and peace must remain more important than efficiency, profit, and power.

In my view, however, the first point is the most important. Power is rapidly shifting toward a small group of technology leaders and companies. They increasingly influence information, communication, the economy, and even politics. Their primary responsibility is to their shareholders, not to humanity as a whole.

At the same time, our humanity is slowly eroding as more human choices, relationships, and interactions are delegated to technology. The real question is therefore not merely what AI can do, but who controls it, who sets the rules, and in whose interests that power is ultimately exercised. That may well be the most important societal question of our time.

Miguel Goede