What Pope Leo says in his new encyclical on artificial intelligence
The ethical and moral challenges of artificial intelligence and the preservation of human dignity are among the subjects of the encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas'. The Pope’s manifesto promises to become a reference.
Pope Leo XIV admits that “any statement about artificial intelligence (AI) runs the risk of becoming obsolete in a short time”. Even so, that was the subject he chose for his first encyclical, presented publicly on Monday, 25 May, the day he marked one year at the head of the Catholic Church, and whose main ideas ECO sums up in this feature.
More than a merely theological or doctrinal document, the letter, entitled Magnifica Humanitas, which deals “with safeguarding the human person in the age of AI”, is an exercise in discernment about some of the great dilemmas of adopting technology. The American does not come out clearly for or against AI, preferring to focus on its purposes and on how it is used. Even so, he recommends putting on the brakes, to make room for reflection.
AI translation from the Portuguese. First published in ECO on 26 May 2026.