By Angela Giuffrida
Publication Date: 2026-05-18 19:22:00
In the first major text of his papacy, Pope Leo will address the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.
The Chicago-born pope will present the document, known as an encyclical, at the Vatican next week at an event attended by Christopher Olah, the co-founder of Anthropic – a US-based AI company that has run afoul of Donald Trump’s administration.
The encyclical will deal with “the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence,” the Vatican said on Monday.
In a break from tradition, Leo, who was elected pope in May last year, will present the document at a public presentation on May 25. He will be joined by lay spokesman Olah of Anthropic, who is in a high-profile legal battle with the Trump administration over the ethics of AI, as well as theologians Anna Rowlands and Léocadie Lushombo.
Encyclicals are one of the highest forms of teaching by a pope to the 1.4 billion members of the Catholic Church and typically set out his priorities…