Pope Leo XIV forms AI study group

Pope Leo XIV has created a Vatican commission on artificial intelligence as the Holy See prepares to publish his first encyclical, a document expected in coming weeks to address the technology’s ethical risks and its effects on human dignity. The Vatican said on May 16 that Leo approved the new body in a rescript dated May 12, assigning it to coordinate work across multiple departments on AI-related questions. The move formalizes a theme Leo has returned to repeatedly since the start of his pontificate: that digital systems must serve the human person and not displace human judgment. It also came two days after the pope used a visit to Rome’s Sapienza University to warn about the use of artificial intelligence in war and to praise a humanitarian education corridor for students from Gaza. ### Which Vatican body did Leo create, and when? A rescript dated May 12 and released on May 16 said Leo approved the creation of an Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, signed the text, and that dicastery will coordinate the commission’s work for its first year. (vaticannews.va) The Vatican said the commission was created because of AI’s rapid development, its widening use and its potential effects “on human beings and on humanity as a whole.” The text said the body would also address policies on AI use within the Holy See and promote collaboration among Vatican offices. ### Who sits on the new AI commission? (vaticannews.va) Seven Vatican institutions will be represented on the commission, according to the rescript released by Vatican News. They are the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Communication, the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. The coordinating role will rotate in one-year terms that can be renewed, and the pope will decide which institution leads after the first year, the Vatican said. The commission was established under Article 28 of the apostolic constitution *Praedicate Evangelium*, which allows a dicastery head to create a special interdicasterial commission for matters requiring frequent consultation. (vaticannews.va) ### How does this connect to Leo’s first encyclical? The Associated Press reported on May 16 that Leo’s first encyclical is expected in the coming weeks and is likely to insist on an ethics-based development of artificial intelligence that prioritizes human dignity and peace. Vatican News said AI has been a recurring subject throughout Leo’s pontificate and pointed to the January 2025 Vatican note *Antiqua et Nova* on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence. (vaticannews.va) In a January message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Leo said technology must “serve the human person, not replace it.” He warned that systems able to simulate voices, faces and emotions could distort communication, while algorithms that reward outrage could weaken critical thinking and deepen polarization. (apnews.com) ### What did Leo say this week about war and Gaza? On May 14 at Sapienza University in Rome, Leo warned about rising military spending and the dangers of artificial intelligence in war, Vatican News said. AP reported that he cautioned against AI-directed warfare and a resulting “spiral of annihilation.” At the same university visit, Leo praised an agreement to open a humanitarian university corridor from the Gaza Strip. (vaticannews.va) Vatican News said 72 students from Gaza arrived in Rome this week, with four enrolled at Sapienza, under a program backed by the university, the Diocese of Rome and the Community of Sant’Egidio. The agreement was signed in February and provides scholarships, housing, integration support and, through the Diocese of Rome, accommodation through March 2029 with a possible one-year extension. (vaticannews.va) ### Why was Sapienza part of this story? Sapienza University gave Leo a stage to connect his technology warnings with education, refugees and youth. The Vatican’s program for the May 14 visit said Leo met Rector Antonella Polimeni, addressed lecturers and students in the Great Hall, and greeted students again on the monumental staircase before returning to the Vatican. (vaticannews.va) Vatican News described Sapienza as Europe’s largest university, with 125,000 students. In his address there, Leo urged young people to become “artisans of true peace” and said universities should be places where faith, study and public responsibility meet. ### What comes next from the Vatican? The Holy See press office said on May 16 that Leo will travel to France from September 25 to 28 at the invitation of the French head of state, church authorities and UNESCO’s director-general, and that he will visit UNESCO headquarters. (press.vatican.va) Vatican News said the trip would be the first official papal state visit to France since Benedict XVI traveled there in 2008. (vaticannews.va) The encyclical is expected before that trip, according to AP’s report on the Vatican’s preparations. The new AI commission, coordinated in its first year by Cardinal Czerny’s dicastery, is now the Vatican body formally tasked with carrying that work across the Holy See. (apnews.com) (press.vatican.va)