Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
Pope Leo XIV presented his first encyclical at the Vatican, together with senior members of the Curia. This is how he was welcomed.
With him were Cardinals and experts in both theology and AI. Among them was Christopher Olah from Anthropic, the company involved in disputes with the Trump administration for refusing to use its technology for certain military purposes. The pope thanked him for his presence.
POPE LEO XIV
In the name of the Church, I accept your invitation to walk together, to listen and to speak and together to find the way for humanity, in this time of artificial intelligence. What a great sign of hope that, with our differences, we can listen to one another.
Pope Leo also took the opportunity to publicly explain the reasons that led him to write this encyclical:
POPE LEO XIV
Other, very troubling voices have also reached me about increasingly autonomous weapons systems practically beyond any human reach to govern them effectively. I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice.
The pontiff once again reaffirmed the Church’s position on nuclear weapons, stressing that work toward disarmament continues. He described this effort as a service to peace and to the dignity of the human family. But he also made an important clarification: disarming is not enough. We must also build.
