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Pope Leo Makes AI Apocalypse Risks Central to His Papacy
By Drooid · · How we work
AI Risks Central to Pope Leo’s Papacy
On September 23 2026, Pope Leo addressed the weekly general audience in St. He urged governments to “govern wisely” and called for global rules to keep AI “at the service of humanity.” His appeal follows a May encyclical that warned AI systems could spread misinformation, fuel conflict and trigger a cycle of violence.
Vatican’s Historical Engagement with AI
The Holy See began warning about AI in 2019, hosting two conferences on the technology’s potential hazards. Pope Francis, at one of those events, cautioned that AI-driven misinformation could spark a world war. On September 16, the U.S. bishops’ conference announced a new AI task force after meetings with tech executives, underscoring the church’s ongoing dialogue with the sector.
Official Statements & Vatican Positions
Rev. Paolo Benanti, a leading Vatican adviser on AI, told Reuters that “the transformative power of AI … could produce a magnitude of societal changes that are very hard to predict.” He emphasized that the Vatican’s concerns predate recent Silicon Valley alarms and are rooted in a long-term ethical debate. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomat, warned that and that “the future of humanity is really at stake here.” In a speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope Leo compared AI-powered autonomous weapons to landmines, arguing that, unlike nuclear arms, AI systems are “far less visible” and harder to control.
Verbatim Quotes
- “This is not happening on day zero for the Holy See,” — Rev. Paolo Benanti, vatican adviser
- “The transformative power of AI ... could produce a magnitude of societal changes that are very hard to predict,” — Rev. Paolo Benanti, vatican adviser
- “The future of humanity is really at stake here,” — Cardinal Pietro Parolin
These statements illustrate the Vatican’s view that AI poses unprecedented governance challenges, prompting the Pope to place AI risk at the heart of his papacy and to seek coordinated international regulation.