Home · Faith · Sep 25 archive
Pope Leo XIV Urges Ethical AI Amid Human Dignity Concerns
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV warned that human dignity is being overlooked in the name of efficiency and productivity in the era of AI during a visit to UNESCO.
Pope Leo XIV warned that human dignity is being overlooked in the name of efficiency and productivity in the era of AI during a visit to UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
In a speech delivered in French and English, Pope Leo XIV said, “The paradox has become increasingly evident: while ‘intelligence’ is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognize the inalienable dignity of human persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, are rejected and discarded.”
El-Enany, UNESCO’s director-general, welcomed Pope Leo XIV, calling his visit “a truly historic moment” as it was the first visit by a pontiff in 46 years.
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the broader question of what it means to be human, urging the assembly to explore the fundamental question that challenges every culture, knowledge, art, and religion.
Pope Leo XIV also criticized the logic of nuclear deterrence, saying it risked fueling a new arms race, and urged world leaders not to accept war as inevitable.
The pope’s visit to UNESCO included a forum earlier in the day with educators, cultural leaders, and youth representatives.
Upon his arrival, Pope Leo XIV was greeted by UNESCO representatives and had a brief private meeting with El-Enany before being escorted to the headquarters’ Square of Tolerance.
The pope and El-Enany were handed green watering cans and watered the olive tree before heading to the main hall, where the pontiff was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation.
Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France, which includes stops in Paris, Lourdes, and Metz, aims to address peace, Europe, faith, and human dignity.
In his May encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial systems should not be entrusted with lethal or irreversible decisions and argued that technology must remain subject to human moral judgment.
What this adds
Pope Leo XIV’s visit to UNESCO highlights his ongoing concern about the ethical implications of technological advancements, particularly AI, on human dignity.
The pope’s message underscores the need for responsible technological progress and ethical safeguards in the face of rapid scientific and digital developments.
Background
Pope Leo XIV will meet with seven French survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his visit to Lourdes, as critics demand further action.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged the Capuchin Poor Clare Nuns of Italy to remain hopeful and to renew their spiritual commitment despite a decline in vocations during an audience on September 25.
What's confirmed
- Everyone needs to feel there is room for them in their bishop’s heart, Pope Leo XIV said yesterday.
- “Love the people that the Lord has entrusted to you” and boldly bring the Good News of salvation to everyone, the Pope told 147 bishops from five continents attending a course for bishops ordained in the past year.
- “We live in an era of rapid change,” the Pope told them in the Vatican Synod Hall.
- “Our ministry springs from there. And when the heart remains close to Him, our service also becomes more serene, more free and more fruitful,” Pope Leo said.
- Jesus said the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, the pope said.
- “May people feel, through our presence, something of God’s tenderness and fatherhood!” the pope said.
- “Dear brothers, as you return to your churches, take this certainty with you: the Lord, who has called you, is faithful,” Pope Leo said.
What's still developing
- “It is precisely those in need who suffer the gravest consequences of this forgetfulness, whenever their humanity is betrayed or cast aside, exploited or deceived. Forgetting the circumstances of our birth obscures the very idea of human life, because it detaches life from the history common to us all,” the pope said.
- “Freedom is indeed beautiful when it is oriented toward goodness and truth; it is disfigured when it descends into arbitrariness, violence or the thirst for power,” the pope said.
- After lunch at the apostolic nunciature in Paris, Pope Leo made his way to UNESCO’s headquarters, established in 1945 to promote peace through international cooperation in science, culture, education and communication.
- Find room in your heart for everyone, Pope tells new bishops ( By Carol Glatz, OSV News ) Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile.
- "We cannot remain indifferent to such suffering that wounds human dignity and cries out to God for justice," Leo said.
- He said the protection of life was the foundation of all other human rights and expressed concern about technological and scientific developments that could turn human life into a commercial enterprise.
- "I am concerned at times by those trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one's own death," he said.
- The pope is seeking to speak to a country with deep Christian roots but where Catholic influence over public policy and social issues has declined under France's strong tradition of secularism.
- Speaking at the Elysee Palace after arriving in Paris, the U.S.-born pope addressed a range of issues, including the wars in the Middle East, nuclear weapons, assisted dying, artificial intelligence and the role of journalism.
- “Every technology reflects, whether explicitly or implicitly, a particular understanding of the human person, of society and of the future we wish to build,” Pope Leo XIV told members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Thursday, September 24.
- “Technological progress is never simply a technical matter,” the Pope said.
- Pope Leo XIV receives the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, urging its scientists to anticipate the major risks of artificial intelligence and climate change.