by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
VATICAN CITY (Worthy News) – Pope Leo XIV warned Monday that Artificial Intelligence (AI) threatens humanity, comparing the rapidly advancing technology to “a new Tower of Babel” that must be “disarmed” to prevent “digital slavery,” “digital colonialism,” manipulation, and devastating wars.
In his first major teaching document, titled Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), the pope urged governments, technology companies, and developers to ensure the technology serves humanity rather than dominates it.
“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together,” the pontiff wrote.
Presenting the encyclical at the Vatican alongside AI experts, including Christopher Olah of Anthropic, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said the technology must be “disarmed from the mentality of military, economic and technological domination.”
AI, DIGITAL SLAVERY, AND WAR
He warned that the technology could normalize exploitation in ways similar to historic slavery, describing the emergence of “new digital slaveries” tied to both the production and application of advanced technologies.
The pope also condemned the growing use of AI in warfare, warning that reducing human control over weapons risks making armed conflict more frequent and impersonal.
“No algorithm can make war morally acceptable,” Pope Leo wrote, cautioning against an AI-driven arms race and saying the technology could lower “the threshold for resorting to violence.”
The encyclical additionally criticized the use of AI to manipulate images, videos, and public opinion, saying such practices threaten truth, democracy, and human dignity.
RETURN TO THE TOWER OF BABEL
Returning to the Biblical image of the Tower of Babel, Pope Leo XIV suggested humanity risks repeating an ancient mistake by using AI to build power and unity apart from God.
According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, people sought to build a tower “reaching to the heavens,” but God confused their language and scattered them across the earth, bringing the project to an end.
Pope Leo also issued one of the Vatican’s strongest apologies for the Catholic Church’s historical role in slavery, saying it was “impossible not to feel deep sorrow” over the suffering endured by enslaved people and asking forgiveness in the name of the Church.
The document was released on the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII, a landmark Catholic teaching on workers’ rights and social justice during the Industrial Revolution.
Pope Leo’s new encyclical called for international safeguards and ethical oversight of rapidly advancing technologies.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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