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[Digital Today AI Reporter] Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical on artificial intelligence, addressing issues such as AI monopolies, employment and ethics. The document drew mixed reactions from the tech sector, politicians and academics.
On May 25 (local time), Business Insider reported that the pope addressed how to protect human dignity in the AI era in the 245-paragraph encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas’.
He said AI must function as a tool to assist people and must not lead to domination or exclusion. He also warned against allowing AI to become the monopoly of a technological elite and raised concerns about its effects on jobs and ethics.
David Sacks, a tech investor and former White House AI policy lead, agreed with parts of that framing. While he supported the idea that AI should assist humans, he cautioned that handing excessive control over AI development to governments in the name of safety could open the door to censorship, surveillance and the control of citizens.
By contrast, Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Technology, rejected the pope’s perspective. He argued that technological revolutions have eliminated some jobs but created new ones, and that if society had resisted change to preserve existing jobs, production would likely still depend on manual labor.
AI researcher Yoshua Bengio echoed the pope’s concerns. He urged the Vatican and international organizations to take an active role in global AI discussions to raise public awareness and prepare for future challenges.
Tanishq Mathew Abraham, founder of the medical AI research center MedArc, praised the pope for not portraying AI as inherently evil while recognizing that technology is never neutral.
Political reactions were mixed. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called the pope’s stance important and warned that if AI begins to replace core human capacities—creativity, friendship and critical thinking—it could erode the foundations of humanity.
Author and investigative journalist Gerald Leo Posner labeled the encyclical “Jesus AI,” describing the Vatican’s move as a historic attempt to set guardrails for AI and Silicon Valley. He added that the tech industry will likely move past these safety principles quickly.
After attending the encyclical release event on May 24, Brian Burch said Vatican leaders are making a meaningful contribution to the AI debate. He stated that the United States also supports steering AI to serve humanity and uphold core values, and he pledged to prioritize pro-innovation policies that back private-sector AI advances.
Democratic politician Christopher Hale warned that the media is underestimating the encyclical’s immediate impact.
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