Pope Leo XIV used his first major manifesto, published Monday, to urge governments to "disarm" artificial intelligence and be guided by the common good rather than power or profit.
The first US pontiff stressed that while AI can be a valuable tool, it also poses many dangers to humanity.
"Artificial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death," the pope told a special Vatican presentation of the document, known as an encyclical.
Encyclicals are seen as an authoritative form of teaching from a pope to the Catholic Church's 1.4 billion members.
Leo's first encyclical, titled "Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity), follows several years of study by the church on AI-related technologies.Automated drone swarms, the beginning of AI-driven warfareTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
