By Angela Giuffrida
Publication Date: 2026-05-25 10:54:00
Pope Leo has denounced the “culture of power” that is driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, while warning that the technology must be subject to the “strictest” ethical constraints as it infiltrates everything from work to war.
In his encyclical – the first major text protecting humanity during his papacy – Leo, the first American-born pope, also apologized for the Catholic Church’s long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as “a wound in Christian memory” while warning about the “new forms of slavery” due to the digital economy.
In a break from tradition, Leo, who said shortly after his election in May last year that he considers AI to be the greatest threat to humanity today, presented the document itself on Monday during an event at the Vatican. Among those in attendance was Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, a US AI company that has run afoul of Donald Trump’s administration.
Encyclicals are one of the highest forms of teaching in the world.
