What AI Founders Learned From Past Tech Pioneers: They’re Not Gods

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In recent weeks, much has been said about how Pope Leo XIV weighed in on AI with his 42,300 word Magnifica Humanitas. Pope Leo’s warnings attracted headlines from around the world for his stark warnings about artificial intelligence’s future.

“Artificial intelligence now demands to be disarmed,” said Pope Leo. “We cannot be careless with our most powerful technical instruments.”

Co-founder of US artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic, Christopher Olah, shakes hands with Pope Leo XIV before the presentation of the first Encyclical Letter “Magnifica Humanitas”, focused on the rise of artificial intelligence, in The Vatican on May 25, 2026. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

But while Silicon Valley largely dismissed Pope Leo’s comments like they were an outdated software upgrade, one of the brightest spots I’ve seen reporting on AI is that the Pope received any recognition from Silicon Valley. Pope Leo presented his findings alongside Christopher Olah, an Anthropic co-founder who arrived at the Vatican respectfully dressed in a conservative navy suit. Then as Forbes previously reported, Olah advised the Pope to keep tabs on his own industry.

“We need moral voices that the incentives can not bend,” said Olah. “Today is just the beginning, the start of a long collaboration between those of us who are building this and those who can see what we – from the inside – what we cannot.”

In all of the apocalyptic coverage that is currently being published about AI, Olah’s humility is a major break from how previous technology founders have presented themselves. Plenty of AI founders have described the superpowers of the technology they have created. But they have not called themselves God. And that is a huge departure from past views of technology entrepreneurs. It was something that came up repeatedly in my reporting for the Computer Freaks podcast about the early internet founders..