Pope Leo XIV Pledges Vatican Campaign on AI Risks, Urges Global Treaty

Pope Leo XIV announced an initiative to confront threats posed by artificial intelligence, positioning the issue as the defining challenge of his pontificate. 

Addressing cardinals, he reportedly said the Church will draw on “two millennia of social teaching to respond to another industrial revolution and to innovations in AI that challenge human dignity, justice and labor.” Echoing namesake Leo XIII, who defended factory workers during the Gilded Age, the American pontiff is pressing for a binding international AI treaty. 

Executives from Google, Microsoft and Cisco, Vatican visitors, have lobbied against regulation, warning it could stifle innovation. The Vatican signalled it will intensify dialogue with governments and technology leaders.

Featured image: Credit: Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar, Wikipedia