Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, warns that artificial intelligence is intensifying older problems such as inequality, war, democratic erosion, and concentrated power. The document argues that AI must be governed for the common good, with clear oversight and public participation, rather than left to a small elite.
What the encyclical says
Leo says power concentrated in a few hands becomes opaque, evades oversight, and creates new exclusions and inequalities.
He also says AI tends to amplify the advantage of those with money, expertise, and data, allowing them to shape information, influence democracy, and steer economic outcomes.
Call for oversight
The pope calls for AI to be guided by “clear criteria and effective oversight” with communities involved in decisions that affect them.
He also argues for ending the AI arms race, which he says rewards ever larger models and datasets in pursuit of geopolitical or commercial dominance.
Broader warning
Leo links today’s AI tensions to older concerns raised by Pope Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum, which addressed concentrated power during the Industrial Revolution.
The encyclical also echoes current debates over platform power, political influence, and efforts by tech leaders to resist regulation.
Democracy and misinformation
Notre Dame Law School professor Paolo Carozza said AI-driven misinformation and deepfakes have damaged society’s ability to tell truth from falsehood.
He also warned that harvesting and manipulating human data poses serious risks to cognitive freedom.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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