The new head of the Roman Catholic Church Leo XIV, a former American cardinal and graduate of the mathematics department, has officially announced his intention to control the development of artificial intelligence.
In his first speech to the College of Cardinals, he warned of the risks “to human dignity, justice and work” posed by the unbridled progress of AI.
“Technology has enormous potential, but it requires responsibility. We must ensure that it serves the good of all,” the pontiff emphasised.
According to the Vatican, the choice of the name Leo is a direct reference to Pope Leo XIII, a defender of workers’ rights during the industrialisation era. The modern Leo XIV is trying to play the same role, only now in the field of digital revolutions.
Work on shaping the Holy See’s position on AI began under Francis: in 2020, the Vatican, together with IBM and Cisco, signed the Rome Call for AI Ethics, and in 2024, it published a statement on the dangers of “technological enslavement.” According to Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan and advisor on AI ethics, “the mission of the Church is to be an expert in humanity.”
Through Catholic countries and its network in the Global South, the Vatican can promote more democratic access to AI and global standardisation of regulation. Meanwhile, the US, under President Trump, has abandoned the restrictions of the Biden era, allocating $500 billion to AI development, while the EU, once a leader in ethical regulation, is softening its own rules for the sake of competitiveness.
Pope Leo has already encountered the negative aspects of technology: a deepfake video has appeared online in which he allegedly praises the president of Burkina Faso. This has given the Vatican another argument in favour of urgent ethical control over generative AI.
Leo XIV seems serious about turning the Vatican into the “moral arbiter of the digital age.” At a time when states are losing control over AI, the voice of an authoritative body not involved in the race for profit could play a key role — especially for countries in Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
