'Magnifica Humanitas': Pope Leo XIV calls to fight against AI 'dominance' and 'dehumanization' in his first encyclical

Artificial intelligence is not just the future, it is a reality and a real danger, which is why Pope Leo XIV dedicated the first encyclical of his papacy to this phenomenon. Prevost called to fight against the "dominance" of A.I. in a document in which he also condemned "dehumanization" and the concept of "just war."

Just after the feast of Pentecost, recalling the reading of the confusion of tongues in genesis after the flood, the pope says human beings are facing a new vital and historical challenge: "Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together."

On the occasion of the 135th anniversary of "Rerum novarum," the document is signed on May 15, the same day as Leo XIII's encyclical, even though it was published today, the pope opened up a reflection and  update on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church in the age of artificial intelligence. It is an appeal to safeguard "humanity, created by God in all its grandeur." To this end, Leo XIV considers the promotion of truth, the dignity of work, social justice and peace as necessities.

Encyclicals are documents addressed to all the faithful that set out the church's position of reference on social, moral, political or theological questions. On this occasion, the 130-page text, called "Magnifica Humanitas" ("Magnificent Humanity"), addresses a multitude of issues, such as the church's delay in condemning slavery or the impact of artificial intelligence (A.I.) on the environment.

"Disarming" A.I. to "prevent it from dominating humanity"

Given the importance of the document, the pope presented it himself along with A.I. experts, among them the co-founder Anthropic, Christopher Olah. "We cannot consider A.I. to be morally neutral," the pope indicates, calling to "disarm" this technology to "prevent it from dominating humanity."

The pope also claims that "control over platforms, infrastructure, data and computing power does not rest with States, but with major economic and technological actors."

Condemning "new forms of slavery"

Citing, among others, Plato and J.R.R. Tolkien for their fight against dehumanization, the American pope criticized the "new forms of slavery" to extract the resources needed for A.I. and called for more sustainable technological solutions "that reduce environmental impact and help protect our common home."

"In some regions of the world, children and adolescents work in dangerous conditions, crushing the materials from which rare earth elements are extracted." Rare earth elements are a group of metals essential to modern technology. "The bodies of these people are scarred, injured and worn down so that computational flow may continue uninterruptedly," the pope claims.

Beyond the technological challenges, the pope warns about the risk of "dehumanization," warning against a vision of human beings reduced to their performance or to data exploited by machines.

Technology is not "a force antagonistic to humanity"

However, throughout its five chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion, "Magnifica Humanitas" starts from a premise: technology is not a "a force antagonistic to humanity." However, "technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it."

For this reason, the pope invited people to build on the good and to "remain human," according to the logic of courageous responsibility, of subsidiarity, of communion, so that "the world once again will come to recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell."

Dismantling the concept of "just war"

"No algorithm can make war morally acceptable," wrote Leo in the encyclical. Without mentioning names, the pope reiterated the need to "overcome the theory of the 'just war,'" a concept championed, among others, by the Donald Trump administration, and lamented that humanity is "falling into the violent culture of power" that normalizes war as "an instrument of international politics."

In April, the White House criticized the pope for stating that "God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war" in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.

The pope also lamented that polarizing media narratives are harming public opinion and that "a worrying loss of historical memory" deprives us of a long-term vision. As a result, he says, today peace is no longer understood as a task to be undertaken, but as a precarious interval between conflicts.

For this reason, Leo XIV stressed that, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in its strictest sense, it is necessary to overcome the theory of the "just war," promoting rather dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness.

In this sense, Leo XIV called to relaunch dialogue, moving from a culture of power to a culture of negotiation. In this, the "dialogue between religions," bearer of a message of peace, is also key: "Whoever uses the name of God to legitimize terrorism, violence or war, betrays his face. Fighting in the name of religion means, in reality, striking at religion itself."

Moreover, the pope stressed that the Holy See's diplomacy uses "the evangelical principle of mercy" as a concrete criterion for political action. From this derives the exhortation to prayer, because peace comes first and foremost from God.

Family: The primary social good

The encyclical also underlines the importance of the family, founded on the stable union between a man and a woman. Leo XIV pointed out that it is a "primary social good," "a fundamental and irreplaceable cell of every community organization" that must also be supported through labor policies that favor stability and human rhythms, so as to guarantee the right balance of life and protect that "capacity to build the future" that makes society generative.

A text that emerged from "listening" to experts and concern for young people

At a press conference on Monday, the pope explained that this text emerged from "listening," after dialogue with scientists, engineers, political leaders, parents and teachers who are "concerned" about the young generation.

"We need more actors in the world: religious communities, civil society, researchers, governments, to do what His Holiness has done here: take this seriously, examine it carefully and steer events in a better direction," Christopher Olah declared.

"Magnifica Humanitas" culminates several years of reflection within the Catholic Church on A.I.-related technology. In 2020, the Holy See launched, together with digital companies and academic institutions, the Rome Call for an Ethics of A.I., in which it advocated for technological development respectful of human dignity.