The Catholic Church’s response to AI — so far
The Catholic Church’s response to AI — so far
https://www.ewtnnews.com/vatican/the-catholic-church-s-response-to-ai-so-far
Publish Date: 2026-05-15 17:48:00
Source Domain: www.ewtnnews.com
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Pope Leo XIII’s legacy and the new industrial revolution: Pope Leo XIII engaged with social changes due to the industrial revolution. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, references this context to address the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) as the next “industrial revolution,” focusing on human dignity, justice, and labor.
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Antiqua et Nova: Issued in January 2025 under Pope Francis, this document emphasizes the need for an ethical framework for AI, contrasting human relational and truth-seeking nature with AI’s pattern recognition, and stresses that AI must respect human dignity and promote human development.
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Rome Call for AI Ethics (February 2020): This document, spearheaded by the Pontifical Academy for Life, calls for the ethical use of AI guided by principles like transparency, inclusion, and accountability. Major tech companies have pledged support for this guideline.
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Key papal statements on AI: Several speeches by Pope Leo XIV in 2025 highlighted the importance of respecting human dignity and the challenges AI poses to human relationships, ethical governance, medical progress, and the welfare of children, stressing the unique value of human intelligence and the need for ethical standards in AI development and use.
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Ethical concerns in AI usage and development: The Pope has emphasized the dangers of AI’s potential to manipulate, particularly regarding young people, and underscored the importance of protecting individual dignity and freedom of mind. He has also stressed the necessity for AI to be developed in a way that fosters human relationships and wisdom over mere efficiency.
