Pope Leo XIV warns on AI

Pope Leo XIV used a visit to Rome’s La Sapienza University on May 14 to place artificial intelligence near the center of his early papacy, tying the technology to both war and work. The pope warned that investment in AI and high-tech weaponry was contributing to what he called a “spiral of annihilation,” according to the Associated Press. He made the remarks while appealing for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East during a campus address at Europe’s largest university. Vatican scheduling documents show the visit had been planned as a formal pastoral stop, with meetings at the university chapel, the rectorate and the Great Hall, where Leo was due to address lecturers and students. Professor Antonella Polimeni, La Sapienza’s rector, was listed to welcome him. The program also included a visit to an exhibition titled “Sapienza and the Papacy.” (apnews.com) ### What did Leo say about AI and war? The Associated Press reported that Leo denounced investments in artificial intelligence and high-tech weapons as a path toward a “spiral of annihilation.” The warning came as he coupled the AI remarks with calls for peace in Gaza, the broader Middle East and Ukraine. A Vatican message from June 17, 2025, shows the pope had already framed AI in similar moral terms before the La Sapienza visit. (press.vatican.va) In that text, Leo said AI had “extraordinary potential” to benefit humanity but could also be misused “for selfish gain” or “to foment conflict and aggression.” He said the Church wanted to weigh AI’s consequences against what he called the “integral development of the human person and society.” (apnews.com) ### Why is labor part of this story too? Axios reported on May 14 that Leo was expected to sign his first encyclical as soon as Friday, May 15, and that the document would present AI as a moral and labor issue in a new industrial era. Axios said the text was expected to place human dignity, labor rights and ethics at the center of the Church’s response to AI. OSV News, in a May 14 report carried by Catholic Review, said the encyclical was expected to be signed May 15 and released by the end of May. (vatican.va) That report said Leo had repeatedly returned to AI since his election in May 2025 and had warned young people not to let AI limit “true human growth.” ### How does this fit with what the Vatican has already said? (axios.com) Pope Francis made AI a Vatican policy concern before Leo, including with his June 14, 2024, remarks to the Group of Seven. Leo’s June 2025 Vatican message explicitly cited Francis’s description of AI as “above all else a tool,” then argued that tools take their ethical force from the intentions of the people using them. (catholicreview.org) That continuity matters because Leo has not presented AI as a purely technical issue. In the June 2025 message, he said the Church wanted a “serene and informed discussion” about governance, dignity and the common good. The same message warned of a growing “eclipse” in the sense of what is human. ### Why was La Sapienza the setting? La Sapienza gave Leo a university stage in Rome to speak directly to students and faculty while linking the Vatican’s technology concerns to academic life. (vatican.va) The Vatican press office said the May 14 program included greetings to students on the university’s monumental staircase, a meeting with members of the Academic Senate and university staff, and a formal address in the Great Hall. Euronews, citing the visit, reported that the appearance was the first papal visit to the campus since Pope Benedict XVI canceled a planned speech there in 2008 after protests from faculty and students. ### What comes next from the Vatican? The Vatican’s event page for May 14 says the text of Leo’s Sapienza address is available through official Vatican channels. (press.vatican.va) Separate reporting from Axios and OSV News said an AI-focused encyclical was expected to be signed on May 15 and released by the end of May. Until the Vatican publishes that document, Leo’s La Sapienza speech and his June 2025 AI message remain the clearest official statements of how he is framing the issue. (vatican.va) (euronews.com)