Pope Leo XIV recently issued his inaugural encyclical, titled "Magnifica Humanitas," which directly addresses the critical issue of "safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence." While AI serves as the central theme, the encyclical delves into deeply rooted and pervasive societal challenges that predate modern AI, including systemic inequality, the proliferation of war, the erosion of democratic institutions, and the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a select few.

The extensive 200-page document, which Pope Leo XIV presented alongside Chris Olah, co-founder of the AI company Anthropic, firmly asserts that technology designed and controlled by a small elite inherently fails to serve the common good. Pope Leo writes, "When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few, it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, increasing the risk of distorted forms of development that give rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities." He further elaborates that, akin to past technological revolutions, AI significantly amplifies the power of those who already possess substantial economic resources, specialized expertise, and privileged access to data. This concentration of power, the encyclical warns, enables elites to "shape information and consumption patterns, influence democratic processes and steer economic dynamics to their own advantage."

The publication of this encyclical notably follows reports of President Donald Trump delaying the signing of his executive order on AI, which aimed to establish government oversight over new AI models prior to their public release. This delay was reportedly influenced by figures like venture capitalist and former White House AI czar David Sacks, underscoring the very power dynamics Leo XIV critiques. The Pope advocates for AI development to be guided by "clear criteria and effective oversight" that is fundamentally rooted in the active participation of communities directly impacted by these technologies.

Furthermore, Pope Leo XIV explicitly calls for a global cessation of the AI arms race, which he defines as the relentless pursuit by companies and nations to develop "ever more powerful algorithms and larger datasets" in a bid to secure geopolitical or commercial dominance. He emphasizes, "To disarm means discrediting the assumption that technical power automatically confers the right to govern." These contemporary concerns echo historical patterns; Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum" similarly addressed the concentration of power during the Industrial Revolution. Modern examples, such as Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and its subsequent use to influence political outcomes, or the substantial financial contributions from tech elites to Super PACs aimed at blocking AI regulation, clearly informed Leo XIV's comprehensive analysis.

The encyclical arrives at a conclusion increasingly recognized globally: the immense and sometimes surreal capabilities of current AI technologies dramatically heighten the stakes for humanity. Paolo Carozza, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, and chair of the Meta Oversight Board, highlighted to TechCrunch that the rise of AI-driven misinformation and deepfakes has profoundly "corroded our capacity to recognize what’s true and what’s not true," with severe repercussions for democratic politics. He added that the tech industry’s pervasive practices of "harvesting and manipulating" human data pose "fundamental challenges to cognitive freedom," further emphasizing the urgent need for ethical governance and oversight in the age of artificial intelligence.