Pope Leo XIV calls for global cooperation on AI development, warning against letting technology eclipse human meaning, wonder, and the common good
Newsroom (05/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) In a pointed address delivered Friday to experts gathered for the conference “Artificial Intelligence and Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Leo XIV insisted that the rapid advance of artificial intelligence must not be treated as an “inevitable path” but as a shared human responsibility requiring coordinated action across politics, business, education, finance, and religious communities.
Speaking to participants convened by the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation and the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities (SACRU), the Pontiff stressed that “new generations must be helped, not hindered, on their path to maturity and responsibility,” particularly in their relationship with AI and digital technologies.
“The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it,” Pope Leo cautioned. That deeper capacity, he said, “requires a willingness to confront the mystery and core questions of our existence, even when these realities are often marginalized or ridiculed by the prevailing cultural and economic models.”
The conference, held Friday afternoon, centered on the presentation of a new report examining AI’s impact across industrial, financial, educational, and communications sectors.
The Pope urged educators and society at large to teach young people to employ emerging technologies “with their own intelligence” in the pursuit of truth and broader decision-making. “We support their desire to be different and better,” he declared, “because never before has it been so clear that a profound reversal of direction is needed in our idea of maturing.”
Restoring confidence that humans can still guide technological development—rather than be swept along by it—lies at the heart of building a future with and for the young, he argued. Achieving that goal demands “coordinated and concerted action” that places joint responsibility “before any partisan interest or profit, which is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few.”
Turning to the anthropological stakes, Pope Leo noted that AI already affects millions daily and touches core dimensions of the human person: critical thinking, discernment, learning, and interpersonal relationships. He posed two urgent questions for reflection: “How can we ensure that the development of artificial intelligence truly serves the common good, and is not just used to accumulate wealth and power in the hands of a few?” and “What does it mean to be human in this moment of history?”
Acknowledging that “the commodity that’s most valuable today on the markets is precisely in the area of artificial intelligence,” the Pontiff called for particular care regarding the technology’s possible effects on the “intellectual and neurological development” and “inner life” of children and adolescents.
Human beings, he reaffirmed, “are called to be co-workers in the work of creation, not merely passive consumers of content generated by artificial technology.” While AI has “opened up new horizons for creativity,” it simultaneously raises “serious concerns” about its repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth, beauty, wonder, and contemplation.
Concluding his address, Pope Leo emphasized that “recognizing and safeguarding what characterizes the human person and guarantees his or her balanced growth” remains essential for establishing an ethical framework capable of managing AI’s consequences. He thanked the researchers present for their contributions and encouraged widespread participation in this common endeavor.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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