The Vatican just dropped its most consequential technology document in decades. Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pope, unveiled his inaugural encyclical on May 25, a sweeping moral framework for artificial intelligence that warns the technology could erode human dignity and create modern forms of bondage.
The document, titled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, calls for international regulatory cooperation and positions the Catholic Church as a moral compass for a world racing to deploy AI systems faster than anyone can assess their consequences.
What the encyclical says, and who showed up
Signed on May 15 and formally presented ten days later, Magnifica Humanitas frames AI through the lens of Catholic social teaching. Its core argument: artificial intelligence, left unchecked, risks becoming a tool for exploitation rather than liberation.
The encyclical warns specifically about AI’s capacity to spread misinformation and foster what the pope calls “new forms of slavery.” Pope Leo XIV urged comprehensive regulation and protections designed to ensure AI development serves the common good. The document pushes back against purely profit-driven or military-oriented AI deployment.
