Pope Leo XIV has renewed his warning against unchecked artificial intelligence (AI) development, saying concerns about AI going rogue should not be dismissed.
He spoke to reporters on Monday, September 28, as he returned from a four-day trip to France.
“This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen.”
The 71-year-old pontiff said he is not alarmed to the point of panic.
“If someone were to ask me ‘Am I in panic mode?’ No I’m not. I sleep at night,” he said. “I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI should be taken seriously.”
Warning to French leaders
In an address to leaders at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Friday, September 25, Leo warned that machines are “invading and conditioning our daily lives.”
“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’… there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good,” he said.
Echo of encyclical
His remarks reflect his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released in May, in which he called for “disarming AI.” He did not urge a rejection of the technology, but a check on its power to dominate humanity.
He wrote that regulation alone is not enough, stating that AI “must be disarmed, welcoming and accessible.”
Tech firms open to dialogue
Leo said he was glad his message was being heard, adding that tech companies appear open to ensuring AI serves as “a tool for human beings” rather than a threat to humanity.
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