Pope: Artificial intelligence must serve people, not become an instrument of domination

Pope Leo XIV warned on Friday against the dangers of artificial intelligence, declaring that new technologies must “remain in the service of the human person” instead of becoming “another instrument of domination and injustice.”

Speaking at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, as part of his four-day trip to France, the Pope said artificial intelligence risks impoverishing human “ideas and relationships” through a “process of dehumanization,” while also criticizing the ever-growing emphasis on productivity in modern societies.

Delivering his address, he argued that judging people by the “criterion of efficiency” risked undermining respect for human dignity, causing “those who are no longer productive” to be rejected and discarded.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a prominent theme of the Pope’s pontificate. In May, he published his first encyclical — a 42,300-word document titled “Magnifica humanitas” — addressing the risks that unchecked artificial intelligence poses to humanity and arguing in favor of further regulatory oversight.

In his speech, the Pope stressed the need to ensure that emerging technologies offer adequate protection for children, declaring that young people’s “vulnerability” must “never become an opportunity for exploitation.”

European policymakers have been struggling to find ways to protect children from online harm, with measures such as school phone bans already in force, while the European Commission’s proposed Child Act — which could restrict social media access for children under 13 — is gaining increasing attention.