Pope Leo XIV yesterday denounced the pursuit of profit as the driving force behind artificial intelligence development, warning that choices made for greater profits systematically sacrifice jobs. His first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), released yesterday, explicitly stated that the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good, not the accumulation of wealth. The document highlighted the "real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale," according to Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, a corporation involved in the Vatican's dialogue on AI.
The Pope declared that AI now demands to be "disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death." He criticized the "culture of power" fueling the AI race, particularly its manifestation in developing advanced methods of remote warfare. Leo stated that entrusting irreversible, lethal decisions to AI systems was "not permissible."
The encyclical was signed on the 135th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” a foundational document from Pope Leo XIII that addressed workers’ rights and the limits of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution. Pope Leo XIV drew a direct parallel, asserting that the current AI revolution poses the same existential questions that the Industrial Revolution presented over a century ago regarding the systematic underpayment of labor and the privatization of collective resources.
Who Profits
Pope Leo XIV repeatedly condemned the concentration of power and data in the hands of a few private sector actors, identifying this as a danger, especially to children and the most vulnerable. He noted that the world’s wealth "is increasingly concentrated in fewer hands, widening inequalities." The Pope also pointed to the significant environmental costs of data centers, which consume "enormous amounts of energy and water," contributing to carbon dioxide emissions as demands for large language models increase. This extraction of resources and concentration of wealth underscores the profit motive driving AI development.
Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, welcomed the Pope’s criticism, acknowledging that external checks were fundamental for the technology to "go well" for humankind. Olah’s statement that "We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend" implicitly recognized the overwhelming pressure of capital accumulation on AI development. Brian Boyd, U.S. faith liaison for the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, described Anthropic as an "enormous corporation that is taking onto itself an enormous risk and responsibility."
Who Pays
The encyclical directly addressed the human cost of the AI revolution, stating that the pursuit of greater profits "cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs." The potential for widespread labor displacement was a central concern. Beyond job loss, Leo highlighted the role of digital networks, including online platforms and anonymous payment methods, in human trafficking, which he unequivocally termed a "contemporary form of slavery." He warned that failing to respond to or tolerating these practices risked complicity in "today’s sins, which are akin to those of the past when slavery was being concealed and justified." The Pope urged politicians to orient policies toward "dignified work, social inclusion and an equitable distribution of the benefits of innovation," rather than relying on the "invisible hand" of the market, which has demonstrably failed to prevent wealth concentration.
The State's Role and Liberal Inadequacy
Pope Leo XIV called for "robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility" to regulate AI. He stressed that "A more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few," implicitly critiquing the notion that the private sector can self-regulate or that ethical guidelines alone can curb capital's drive. The Vatican’s decision to involve Anthropic, a corporation currently in a legal battle with the Trump administration over access to its AI technology, in its dialogue on AI’s human cost, illustrates the system's reliance on engaging with the very forces it seeks to regulate.
The Pope also addressed the state's role in warfare, citing "opposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy." He demanded transparency and accountability from AI developers regarding the chain of command in AI weaponry, and called for a shared international framework to "curb the technological arms race and ensure robust protection for civilians." He declared the Catholic Church’s "just war" theory "outdated" given technological advances in warfare, acknowledging the state's increasing capacity for violence through AI.
The Pope’s call for reform within existing political and economic structures, while highlighting critical contradictions, frames solutions within the current system. Taylor Black, a Microsoft AI executive, stated the document would prompt questions like "What does it mean to be human?" among those "at the forefront of these tools," rather than questioning the fundamental ownership and control of these tools. Paolo Carozza, chair of the Meta Oversight Board, called the document "defining" and "prophetic," suggesting it would urge responsibility for constructing a world where technology serves humans, yet the underlying mechanisms of capital accumulation remain unchallenged.