“AI must be disarmed”: Pope Leo sees the technological arms race as a threat to humanity

In the first groundbreaking publication of his papacy, Pope Leo addressed

When Leo presented his first papal encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Great Humanity”) at the Vatican on May 25, he declared: “Artificial intelligence must be disarmed.”

In the document – ​​which runs to around 42,300 words in its English translation – the pope writes: “Disarmament does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.”

Encyclicals are extremely important papal documents that respond to the most pressing social issues of the time. Typically written as letters to all bishops and archbishops, they have become a crucial tool for spreading the theology and political commitment of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world.