Pope Leo’s warnings about AI spark needed conversation on dangerous tech
Whether one aligns with the Catholic Church or not, the pope’s recent comments about the pitfalls of rising AI are important and raise key questions about its ethicality
Opinion-editorial by Summer Lane | May 25, 2026
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV delivered a long papal encyclical – a letter written by the pope – that heavily emphasized the growing technological dangers of rising artificial intelligence, and the need to morally harness that growth.
The topic may be a bit surprising for those expecting a purely religious discussion, but the startling rise of AI is actually quite relevant, because its very nature poses many moral questions.
Christopher Olah, the co-founder of AI developer and tech giant Anthropic – the company responsible for the development of Pentagon-linked AI program Claude – attended the pope’s encyclical at the Vatican’s invitation.
The pope said he would, in turn, accept Olah’s invitation to “work together to find the way for humanity, in this time of artificial intelligence.”
“What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences, we can listen to one another,” the pope continued. “This interchange clearly bespeaks the gravity of the moment as well as confidence that together we can discern the major questions of our time, and so the future of humanity.”
This posturing of the church in relation to an AI developer like Anthropic seems strange, but on the other hand, it is likely that AI itself poses the greatest risk to humanity seen in decades, perhaps since the advent of the nuclear bomb.
Indeed, the pope even used such language in his remarks. “Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed,” he said. “That word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity. The church has long been working for nuclear disarmament, aware that every great technical power can affect people’s lives and so must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control.”
In this, Pope Leo is correct. AI is like a nuclear bomb, waiting to blow. The damage it leaves behind could be catastrophic.
The dark truth of emerging AI tech
AI is developing at an exponentially rapid pace – a pace that humans can hardly keep up with. From the potential ethical evils posed by the construction of massive AI data centers to the reality that robotics and automation will soon eat up human jobs, the threat has never been so visceral.
And yet, the tech is being pushed everywhere. In March, First Lady Melania Trump pushed the envelope by appearing at a White House AI event beside a humanoid robot, championing the replacement of human teachers by endlessly patient robot educators. President Trump’s administration has also heavily pushed for the development of AI and its behemoth data centers.
As reported by LindellTV, recent data postulates that as many as 300 million people will soon lose their jobs to AI in the coming years – destroying entire industries like writing, marketing, production, factory work, therapy, and beyond.
Elitists seem eager to trade cheap robotics and the all-seeing eye of a surveillance state for global unemployment and massive societal disaster.
“Nuclear disarmament remains a service to peace and the dignity of the human family,” Pope Leo said. “In a similar sense, artificial intelligence now demands to be disarmed, free from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion, and death. Like nuclear energy, it must be at the service of all, and of the common good.”
He warned against separating decisions about technology from “conscience responsibility.”
In other words, AI may be cool, but is its rushed development the right thing for the human race?
The projected statistics suggest that it is not.
Autonomous weaponry
It is within this context of AI that the shadowed threat of autonomous weaponry has emerged. Anthropic has famously sparred with the Pentagon over its use of Claude, which was reportedly utilized during the U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this year.
Anthropic alleged concerns over the Pentagon’s supposed use of Claude to develop autonomous weaponry and domestic surveillance capabilities. The Pentagon has denied this.
It is, however, a pertinent concern, especially amid the fog of war with Iran. Some have wondered if the horrific double-tap strike on an Iranian primary school in Minab – an attack that killed around 180 people, most of them little girls – was a product of erroneous AI targeting systems.
It’s a question that deserves a clear and concise answer, and so far, the truth has been largely obfuscated.
“The growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed makes war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control,” Pope Leo said during the encyclical, per The New York Times.
A sobering comment indeed.
The path forward
Whether the “tech bros” of Silicon Valley will heed the warnings of Pope Leo is yet to be determined. It seems unlikely that the greed of billion-dollar corporations and the unfettered tyrannical appetite of the federal apparatus will slow down anytime soon.
The responsibility to rein in this ticking technological time bomb, then, rightfully falls to the moral leaders of society, whether it’s the Catholic Pope or other religious leaders who recognize this critical precipice of world history.
Will AI be humanity’s “Tower of Babel,” or will it be used for something positive?
“Therefore, the primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence,” Pope Leo said on X.
Only time will tell, but the guardrails must be clear, and the reins of AI must be watched closely. Like all technologies, it has the potential to bring life or destroy it. The question remains: which path will win out, in the end?
Photo: Adobe Stock
