Pope Leo XIV to publish AI encyclical

Pope Leo XIV will publish his first encyclical on May 25, putting artificial intelligence at the center of his first major doctrinal text, according to the Vatican. The document is titled *Magnifica humanitas* and is described by Vatican News as a text on “preserving the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.” Reuters reported on May 18 that the encyclical is expected to be Leo’s first in-depth statement of concern about AI and its effects on workers and warfare. (vaticannews.va) The Vatican has also scheduled an onstage presentation for the same day with Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei, an unusual pairing for the launch of a papal encyclical. ### Why is this document getting unusual attention before it is even released? May 25 is early in Leo’s pontificate for an encyclical, one of the highest-profile forms of papal teaching. Vatican News said the text bears the pope’s signature dated May 15, the 135th anniversary of *Rerum novarum*, Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical on labor and capital. That date links the new document to a foundational Catholic social teaching text as Leo XIV addresses a new technological upheaval. Reuters reported that people familiar with the plans expect the document to address workers’ rights and the use of AI in warfare. (vaticannews.va) Those themes fit comments Leo has already made in public appearances this month, including warnings about AI-driven weapons and the need to protect human dignity. ### What has Leo already said about AI? May 14 remarks by Leo at Rome’s Sapienza University included a denunciation of investment in artificial intelligence and advanced weapons that, he said, was feeding a “spiral of annihilation,” according to the Associated Press report carried by PBS. (vaticannews.va) Earlier Vatican messaging has also framed AI as a tool that must serve people rather than replace them. A January Vatican News message for the World Day of Social Communications said Leo argued that technological innovation must serve the human person and not diminish human dignity. (usnews.com) Vatican News said *Magnifica humanitas* will focus on preserving the human person in the AI age, showing continuity between those earlier statements and the coming encyclical. ### Why is Anthropic’s Dario Amodei part of the launch? The Vatican said the May 25 presentation in the Synod Hall will include Leo and other speakers, and the Associated Press report said one of them will be Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei. (pbs.org) The presence of a leading AI executive suggests the Vatican wants the launch to be part of a direct public conversation with the technology sector, not only an internal church event. That is an inference from the lineup and format. Dario Amodei’s inclusion is notable because papal encyclicals are usually introduced by church officials, theologians or Vatican departments, not Silicon Valley figures. (vaticannews.va) The Vatican has not presented the event as a debate, but as a formal presentation tied to the release of the text. ### Is the Vatican building a broader AI policy structure around this? May 16 Vatican News reporting said Leo approved the creation of an Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence in a rescript dated May 12. The commission was signed by Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. (vaticannews.va) That move means the encyclical is arriving alongside a new Vatican structure dedicated to AI questions. Vatican News and other Catholic outlets have framed the church’s approach around human dignity, labor, communication and the risks of reducing people to data or efficiency metrics. (vaticannews.va) ### What happens on May 25? The Vatican said *Magnifica humanitas* will be released on May 25 and presented at 11:30 a.m. in the Synod Hall. Vatican News said Leo himself will take part in the presentation, and the Associated Press report said Dario Amodei will join the event. (vaticannews.va) The text will be the first chance to see how explicitly Leo addresses AI, work, war and human dignity in a single formal document. (vaticannews.va)