Pope voices deep skepticism about AI technology

Pope Leo XIV’s selection of his papal name reflects his concerns about artificial intelligence’s social impact, drawing a direct parallel to his predecessor Pope Leo XIII who addressed labor exploitation during the Industrial Revolution. This naming choice signals the Catholic Church’s position on modern technological challenges, highlighting growing concerns about AI’s environmental, psychological, and ethical implications as humanity faces another technological revolution.

The big picture: The newly-appointed Pope Leo XIV revealed during his first Sunday address that his papal name choice was inspired partly by concerns about artificial intelligence and its potential threats to human dignity and justice.

• The Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, explicitly connected his name to Pope Leo XIII, who addressed social problems during the first Industrial Revolution through his landmark encyclical “Rerum Novarum.”
• In drawing this parallel, Pope Leo XIV positioned AI as driving “another industrial revolution” that requires the Church’s social teaching to address new challenges to human dignity, justice, and labor.

Behind the concerns: The Pope’s skepticism about AI technology appears well-founded as the technology’s rapid development comes with significant societal and environmental costs.

• Massive AI data centers, like Elon Musk’s xAI facility in Memphis, have been linked to environmental justice concerns, with reports of air pollution affecting predominantly Black neighborhoods already struggling with high asthma rates.
• Energy-intensive AI infrastructure has created water usage conflicts and hampered climate goals for major tech companies like Google.

Broader implications: Pope Leo XIV’s stance continues the Catholic Church’s tradition of critically examining technological progress through an ethical and social justice lens.

• The Pope specifically highlighted AI’s potential threats to human dignity, indicating concern about both physical impacts and deeper psychological effects of technologies like AI companions and assistants.
• His approach suggests the Church will advocate for ethical guardrails around AI development, similar to how Pope Leo XIII called for worker protections during the Industrial Revolution.

Why this matters: The Pope’s messaging represents one of the most influential global religious institutions taking a public position on AI ethics, potentially shaping how 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide view artificial intelligence development.

• By framing AI concerns within the Church’s historical response to technological revolution, Pope Leo XIV establishes continuity in Catholic social teaching while addressing thoroughly modern challenges.
• His focus on dignity and justice suggests the Vatican may become an important moral voice in ongoing global debates about AI regulation and responsible development.