Pope Leo XIV and his predecessor, Pope Francis, have both addressed the rise of artificial intelligence, universally warning that it must not diminish human dignity. Their guidance focuses on several specific concerns:

• Human Agency: The Pope cautions against replacing human intelligence with machines and urges people—including priests writing homilies and students doing homework—to exercise their own minds.
• • Emotional Manipulation: He has specifically warned against overly “affectionate” chatbots acting as “hidden architects” of our emotions and blurring the lines between real human encounters and algorithmic interactions.
  • Developer Responsibility: The Vatican calls for AI creators to be highly transparent, socially responsible, and to build systems rooted in moral discernment and justice rather than just efficiency.
  • Regulation: Both pontiffs have advocated for strict ethical boundaries and international treaties to keep AI human-centric, ensuring it serves humanity rather than increasing the power of a few technological giants.
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