Pope Leo warns of AI fueling warfare in first major theological document

Source Domain: www.cnn.com

Pope Leo XIV says control of artificial intelligence must not remain in the hands “of a few” while warning that technology is fueling world conflicts, setting out his proposals in the first major theological document of his pontificate.

These include protecting the distinctive “grandeur of humanity” amid rapidly changing technology and for the use of AI in warfare to be subject to “the most rigorous ethical constraints.”

While the encyclical focuses on AI, it is a text that goes beyond technological questions and touches on crises facing humanity. Pope Leo said that the “just war” theory – a four-pronged Christian doctrine stating what conditions justify war – is “now outdated,” saying that military force can only be used for “self-defense in the strictest sense.”

He adds that the “litmus test” for social justice is the treatment of migrants and refugees and offered an apology for the church’s involvement in slavery and delay in denouncing the scourge.

The pope, who has made peace-making a central feature of his pontificate, warns that the use of “force, violence and weapons” ultimately “has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.”

“The construction of a world in a state of perpetual conflict is an evil and must be named for what it is,” the pope writes, adding that

“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness.”

His opposition to Just War follows remarks by US President JD Vance that the pope “be careful when he talks about matters of theology” after the Catholic spiritual leader fiercley criticized joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and rebuked world leaders for…

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