Pope Leo to issue text on human dignity and AI with Anthropic co-founder | Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo to issue text on human dignity and AI with Anthropic co-founder | Pope Leo XIV
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/18/pope-leo-encyclical-human-dignity-ai-anthropic
Publish Date: 2026-05-18 15:23:00
Source Domain: www.theguardian.com
In the first major text of his papacy, Pope Leo will address the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.
The Chicago-born pontiff will present the document, known as an encyclical, at the Vatican next week during an event attended by Christopher Olah, the co-founder of Anthropic – a US-based AI firm that has clashed with Donald Trump’s administration.
The encyclical will address “the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence”, the Vatican said on Monday.
In a break from tradition, Leo, who was elected pontiff in May last year, will launch the document during a public presentation on 25 May. He will be joined by lay speaker Olah of Anthropic, which is in the middle of a high-profile lawsuit with the Trump administration over the ethics of AI, as well as theologians Anna Rowlands and Léocadie Lushombo.
Encyclicals are one of the highest forms of teaching from a pope to the Catholic church’s 1.4 billion members, and typically outline his priorities while highlighting the major issues in society.
Leo is expected to consider how AI is affecting workers’ rights while lamenting its use in warfare.
“His encyclical is going to be a response to the dazzlingly rapid technological revolution that is happening right now,” said Andrea Vreede, a Vatican correspondent for the Dutch public radio and TV network NOS. “So he will say things like AI shouldn’t be used in warfare, that is obvious. But he will also try to be positive and offer workable answers to modern challenges.”
The Vatican said Leo signed the document, which is entitled Magnifica Humanitas, or Magnificent Humanity, on 15 May – 135 years after his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, signed his most significant encyclical, which focused on the Industrial Revolution that was under way at the time while addressing workers’ rights and capitalism.
“The fact that Leo signed the document on the same date as Leo XIII signed his encycical is significant,” said Vreede. “The 1891…
