Overview

• Pope Leo XIV told participants at the Vatican’s Rome Conference on AI Ethics that extensive access to data must not be mistaken for true intelligence.
• He warned that AI developments risk impairing children’s intellectual, neurological and spiritual growth if left unchecked.
• He urged tech companies and governments to adopt ethical criteria that honour the uniqueness of the human person and global diversity.
• The pontiff drew parallels between the AI era and the Industrial Revolution, invoking Pope Leo XIII’s advocacy for workers’ rights as a moral guide.
• His call builds on Pope Francis’s Rome Call for AI Ethics and a push for an international treaty, as debates intensify over measures like a proposed US moratorium on state AI regulations.