The Pope who challenges algorithms: “Artificial Intelligence must be disarmed”

Source Domain: exaudi.org

The Vatican has witnessed an unprecedented event in the history of the contemporary Church: for the first time, a Pope has personally attended the presentation of his own encyclical. Breaking with tradition, Pope Leo XIV has presented Magnifica Humanitas to the international community, an encyclical letter conceived not in the isolation of the Holy See’s offices, but rather after a year of actively listening to political leaders, scientists, parents, and even the giants of Silicon Valley.

Leo XIV’s thesis is as clear as it is forceful: Artificial Intelligence is not inherently evil, but neither is it a panacea, and under no circumstances is it neutral. In a world where digital tools tend to concentrate in the hands of those who wield power and capital, the Pope has issued a stern warning, coining an expression that is already resonating strongly in global circles: “Artificial Intelligence must be disarmed ,” stripping it of the structures that currently generate exclusion, inequality in the labor market, and a subtle but relentless social dominance.

War algorithms and the end of “just war”

One of the most dramatic and urgent passages of the encyclical directly addresses the automation of armed conflicts. Faced with the rise of autonomously managed weapons, which absolve leaders of human responsibility for death, the Pope has been unequivocal: “No algorithm can justify war . ”

In evolving the Church’s teaching, Leo XIV called for a departure from the classical concept of “just war.” While maintaining the inalienable right to self-defense against aggression, the Pope warned that this theological category has been instrumentalized throughout history as a pretext for invasion and attack. In the age of hyperconnectivity, the Pontiff called for the use of higher tools, more inherent to human nature: multilateralism, diplomacy, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

“Do we want to build a new Babel or a new Jerusalem?” the…

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