Vatican City, Vatican City. Pope Leo urged governments to slow down and tightly regulate the development of artificial intelligence systems in his first major document, warning that they can spread misinformation, prioritise conflict and push the world toward unending war. He also said some autonomous weapons systems have advanced “practically beyond any human reach to govern them”.
AI regulation
In the lengthy encyclical, titled “Magnifica Humanitas” and released on Monday, Leo called for “robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility.” He also said ownership of AI data should not be left solely in private hands.
Appeal to governments and companies
Leo urged policymakers to protect workers’ rights, keep children safe from the technology and cool competition between AI companies. He said “what is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating.”
Concerns over war and weapons
The pope’s document also criticised wars around the world, said multilateral organisations were weakening and warned that profits from the arms industry were helping drive conflicts. He wrote that “the past 60 years have been marked by conflicts of astonishing brutality, often affecting civilian populations on a massive scale.”
Publication and reception
The text, which runs to nearly 43,000 words, has been in preparation since Leo’s election as pope more than a year ago. It was launched at a Vatican event attended by Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, one of the world’s leading AI companies.
