Leo XIV to Catholic lawmakers: Guide AI, don't abdicate to it

At a meeting on artificial intelligence and human dignity, the Pope called for robust legislation, protection of families, and resistance to "technological colonialism." Pope Leo XIV received members of the International Catholic Legislators Network in the Vatican on Friday, August 21, addressing their annual meeting, this year on the theme "Human Dignity and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Chances, and Control." The gathering included Cardinals Christoph Schonborn and Charles Bo as patrons of the network. Drawing on his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the Pope framed the question of artificial intelligence as a decisive moral choice: "We may be tempted to construct a new Tower of Babel, where power, efficiency and control obscure the face of the human person; or we can build a civilization in which technology serves the integral development of every person." On the role of legislators, Leo was direct. Their task is "not to hinder innovation but to guide it wisely." Sound legislation should encourage technological creativity while safeguarding human rights, protecting users from exploitation, preserving privacy, ensuring transparency, and guaranteeing that emerging technologies "strengthen democratic institutions." He called for "robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility" - at local, national, and international levels - ensuring that "no single ideology or interest dictates the values embedded in artificial intelligence systems." The Pope also raised the question of global inequality. The rapid development of AI risks creating new forms of technological dependence, with poorer nations reliant on wealthier ones. "We must remain vigilant in this regard, lest innovation become another vehicle for ideological or economic colonialism." A "subtle form of domination" is already at work, he said, "when algorithms decide who is seen, who remains invisible, when digital platforms shape public discourse without accountability, and when the dignity of workers is subordinated to the optimization of systems." Family first. Turning to the family, Leo invoked Paul VI's phrase "the civilization of love" as the alternative to a culture of power. The family, he said, is "the first school of humanity" - the place where we learn "trust before calculation, generosity before competition, dialogue before division, and love before power." AI must never erode this primary cell of society, whether by reducing relationships to data, flooding young minds with distorting content, or making family life economically precarious. He encouraged lawmakers to promote policies strengthening marriage and families and supporting parents in their educational mission. He closed with a formulation that distilled the whole address: "The world does not need an artificial intelligence that diminishes humanity; rather, it needs human intelligence enlightened by wisdom, political authority guided by conscience and technological innovation directed by charity."