Leo XIV publishes his first encyclical on artificial intelligence

The Vatican in turn enters the debate on artificial intelligence. In his first encyclical dedicated to AI, Pope Leo XIV denounces a technological model that threatens human employment in favor of profitability. With “Magnifica Humanitas”the Catholic Church takes a stand against the social, economic and political consequences of automation, as the global race for AI accelerates.

The Vatican attacks an AI dominated by the logic of profit

In “ Magnifica Humanitas »Pope Leo XIV asserts that artificial intelligence must never become a force that alienates humanity from its own nature. The text calls on political and economic leaders to remain “deeply human” in the face of the rapid development of automated technologies.

The sovereign pontiff critical openly an industry driven by “efficiency, control and profit”accused of gradually eroding the place of human work in the modern economy.

The encyclical highlights several central points :

• The rejection of “sacrifice of human jobs” for the benefit of economic gains linked to AI;
• The denunciation of a technological model centered on profitability and automation;
• The defense of human work as a fundamental element of dignity;
• The call to preserve a “profoundly human” society in the face of the expansion of intelligent systems.

The document also emphasizes the social and spiritual dimension of work, presented as much more than a simple production tool. The Pope writes that “work is not simply an instrument of subsistence”but an essential element of participation in collective life. This position comes as debates around job losses linked to automation are gaining ground in several economic sectors, from media to finance to software development.

Leo XIV also targets the growing power of technological giants

Beyond the question of employment, the encyclical attacks the concentration of technological power in the hands of a few private companies. Leo XIV even compares the uncontrolled rise of artificial intelligence to a “new tower of Babel”a biblical reference used to illustrate the risks of a technological system beyond collective control. The text warns of technologies capable of increasing surveillance, information manipulation and global economic imbalances. The Vatican is also calling for stricter international regulatory frameworks to limit the military uses and commercial abuse of AI.

This offensive comes in a context where States are still struggling to regulate the dominant players in artificial intelligence. By targeting the centralization of digital power, the Vatican indirectly joins certain criticisms already present in the technological and economic spheres, particularly around the growing dependence on infrastructures owned by a few American groups. The text does not mention any company by name, but its message is clearly aimed at economic models built around the massive exploitation of on-chain data and large-scale automation.

With this encyclical, the Vatican is bringing artificial intelligence into a new political and civilizational dimension. The debate no longer focuses only on innovation or economic competitiveness, but on the place of humans in a society driven by ever more powerful algorithms. It now remains to be seen whether this call will find concrete resonance with governments and manufacturers, as the global race for AI continues to accelerate.