Pope Leo XIV has established a dedicated research group focused on artificial intelligence, as announced by the Vatican on Saturday. This initiative precedes the release of his inaugural encyclical, which is anticipated to highlight the necessity of an ethics-centered approach to AI, prioritizing human dignity and global peace.
The Vatican indicated that the formation of the study group was prompted by the rapid deployment of AI technologies, along with their potential impacts on people and society, and the church’s ongoing commitment to protecting human dignity.
This announcement was made a day after Pope Leo signed the encyclical, coinciding with the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's seminal encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” which addressed labor rights, the constraints of capitalism, and the responsibilities of governments and employers during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. This historical document laid the groundwork for contemporary Catholic social teachings, which Pope Leo XIV has already referenced in discussions regarding the implications of the current AI revolution—a phenomenon he believes raises questions similar to those that arose during the Industrial Revolution over a century ago. His new encyclical aims to position AI within the context of the church’s teachings, which encompass themes such as labor, equity, and peace.
Philosophy professor Meghan Sullivan from the University of Notre Dame suggested, “I think the Catholic Church is poised to be a significant voice in the discussions about how to weave AI into society. The pope will undoubtedly advocate strongly for human dignity in these conversations.”
Following his election in 2025, Leo conveyed to the cardinals that the Catholic Church has a responsibility to share its “treasury of social teaching” as a means to address the challenges AI poses to “human dignity, justice, and labor.”
The anticipated public release of the encyclical, likely in the coming weeks, could ignite further tension between Pope Leo, who hails from Chicago, and the Trump administration—which has deemed the swift advancement of AI critical to national economic and security strategies. The U.S. has been resistant to international regulatory attempts aimed at controlling AI, with the Trump administration working to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles to its domestic development.
As Vatican activity unfolds, U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a visit to China that involved AI discussions. Among those accompanying him on Air Force One were Elon Musk, whose platform X features the AI chatbot Grok, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who recently obtained federal authorization to sell H200 AI chips to Chinese customers.
The Vatican aims to assert its perspective and values within the AI discourse.
Since the emergence of ChatGPT, the impressive capabilities of AI technology have captivated audiences worldwide. Tech firms are racing to create more advanced AI systems, even as experts caution about risks ranging from existential threats such as rogue AIs to everyday problems like bias in algorithm-driven hiring processes.
Last year, the United Nations established a new framework to regulate AI, following previous non-binding international efforts spearheaded by countries like Britain, South Korea, and France. The EU also introduced its Artificial Intelligence Act in 2024, implementing a risk-based regulatory approach.
The Vatican seeks to contribute to these discussions by providing ethical guidelines for AI applications in various domains, including warfare, education, and healthcare. The overarching message is that AI should be utilized as a complement to human intelligence rather than as a replacement.
Additionally, the Vatican has raised concerns regarding the environmental consequences of the AI arms race, particularly the significant amounts of resources required for AI data centers and computational needs.
Thomas Harmon, a theology professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, noted, “With nearly 1.5 billion Catholics globally, there’s ample reason to pay attention. Moreover, the Catholic Church possesses a rich tradition of exploring what it means to be human.”
In 2020, the Vatican engaged technology firms to sign an AI commitment known as the Rome Call for AI Ethics, which outlined fundamental principles for AI governance, including inclusivity, accountability, fairness, and privacy. Among the signatories were corporate giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco.
In his later years, Pope Francis advocated for a global treaty to regulate AI, emphasizing that the stakes of valuing human qualities like compassion, morality, and forgiveness in technology were too high to leave solely in the hands of AI developers. He also voiced his concerns at a special G7 session on the challenges and promises of AI in 2024, urging politicians to ensure that AI remains focused on human needs and decision-making, particularly regarding the use of weapons or less-lethal tools.
Domestically, Leo has cautioned priests against using AI to craft their homilies. However, as a math enthusiast who also takes time to browse his phone, he has expressed his concerns about AI's broader impacts on global peace, labor issues, and our understanding of reality. The Pope highlighted his worries over generative AI's potential for misinformation through misleading deepfake imagery, stressing that the quest for truth is essential to the spirituality of his Augustinian order.
In a speech earlier this year at an AI conference, he acknowledged the beneficial roles of generative AI in healthcare and science. Still, he raised questions about its potential to affect humanity's engagement with truth and beauty and our distinct capacity to comprehend reality.
Leo, as a persistent advocate for peace, called for monitoring the application of AI in warfare—particularly in conflict areas like Ukraine and the Middle East, where automated weapon systems are in use across various platforms. In a recent address at La Sapienza, Europe’s largest university, he lamented the “inhuman evolution” of interactions between warfare and emerging technologies, which he believes foster a cycle of destruction.
