Pope Leo XIV and Christopher Olah, co-founder of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, will launch the pontiff’s first encyclical on May 25, a document on the care of human dignity in the era of AI. This collaboration brings the Vatican into direct partnership with a corporation whose valuation recently grew to $380 billion, positioning it alongside other tech giants in the race for capital accumulation in the AI sector. The event, scheduled for the main Vatican auditorium, marks a significant departure from typical Vatican press room presentations, elevating the profile of both the church’s intervention and the corporate interests involved.
The document, titled Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), was signed by Pope Leo on May 15. This date marks the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, an encyclical that addressed workers’ rights, the limits of capitalism, and the obligations of states and employers during the Industrial Revolution. While the current pope has cited Rerum Novarum in relation to the AI revolution, the new encyclical’s launch alongside a major AI capital player highlights the ongoing attempt to manage the systemic contradictions of technological advancement without challenging the underlying economic structures.
AI Capital's Ascent
Anthropic, which bills itself as an AI company prioritizing safety and risk-mitigation, has seen its valuation soar to $380 billion. This places it in direct competition with rivals like OpenAI and Elon Musk’s merged SpaceX and xAI, all vying for dominance in the development of "better-than-human technology" known as artificial general intelligence. The presence of Anthropic’s co-founder at the Vatican underscores the immense financial power and influence wielded by these corporations, even as they engage in discussions about "human dignity." Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, who previously worked at OpenAI, formed Anthropic in 2021, citing disagreements with OpenAI chief Sam Altman about AI safety, yet the company's rapid capital growth remains its defining characteristic.
The State and Imperial Ambition
The collaboration between the Vatican and Anthropic occurs amidst significant tensions between the AI company and the U.S. state. In February, the Trump administration ordered all U.S. agencies to cease using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology and imposed major penalties. This action was taken because Anthropic refused to allow the U.S. military unrestricted use of its AI technology. Anthropic is currently suing the administration, accusing it of illegal retaliation for its attempts to impose limits on AI deployment.
Despite its legal battle with the U.S. government over military access, Anthropic’s public statements align with broader imperial objectives. In a recent post on its website, the company warned about the U.S.-China competition in AI and the threats of the technology falling into the hands of "authoritarian regimes." It explicitly stated that the U.S. and "democratic allies" must continue to lead on AI development and impose rules and norms on its spread, to prevent China and other "authoritarian regimes" from deploying it as a weapon of repression and surveillance. This rhetoric positions Anthropic as a key player in the projection of military and economic power, securing resources and compliant governments for transnational corporations under the guise of "safety."
Managing the System's Contradictions
Pope Leo XIV has made AI a priority, expressing concern about its use in warfare and calling for monitoring of the technology. However, the church’s engagement with a corporation like Anthropic, which is deeply enmeshed in the military-industrial complex and global power struggles, frames the discussion of AI ethics within the existing capitalist order. The encyclical, expected to place the AI question in the context of the church’s social teaching on labor, justice, and peace, risks offering symbolic concessions that prevent deeper structural challenges. By focusing on "human dignity" in partnership with a company whose primary function is capital accumulation and whose operations are tied to state power, the Vatican's initiative appears to manage the system's contradictions rather than addressing the foundations of wealth concentration and the systematic underpayment of labor that AI technology, like previous industrial revolutions, is poised to exacerbate.