AI can destabilize democracy by amplifying disinformation and blurring the line between fact and fiction. AI can make war easier by speeding up lethal decisions and distancing humans from responsibility. Leo's starkest line: "No algorithm can make war morally acceptable."
Catholic and European outlets are reporting that Leo is poised to sign the AI encyclical on the anniversary of Rerum Novarum (1891), Pope Leo XIII's foundational industrial-era labor encyclical. The encyclical will focus specifically on AI's impact on "people and working conditions," framing it as Leo XIV's effort to modernize Catholic social teaching for the AI era, per the French newspaper Le Monde. Other reports suggest Magnifica Humanitas will argue technology must remain subordinate to the human person - not the reverse - and that AI systems should protect workers, creativity and moral agency.
"I gave them $38 million of essentially free funding, which they then used to create an $800 billion for-profit company. I actually was a fool who created free funding for them to create a startup. I literally was."
