Vatican tech flop: Pope Leo’s AI crusade needs Trump — not the UN
New York Post
Last updated: May 26, 2026
Pope Leo XIV's encyclical "Magnifica humanitas" addresses the critical need for artificial intelligence (AI) to be accountable to human good and public authority, warning against concentrated power in private tech companies. While the Pope correctly identifies ethical concerns and the necessity of transparency, his proposed solutions are critiqued as outdated and overly reliant on international bodies.
- The Pope emphasizes that AI development is controlled by a few companies and executives, posing a challenge to ensuring AI serves the common good over private interests. He advocates for international organizations like the UN to negotiate regulations for digital technologies to protect vulnerable populations from "invisible" violence.
- The article questions the democratic nature of international organizations, contrasting them with the Pope's stated value for democracy that ensures citizen participation and prevents power monopolization. It highlights the "epistemic, economic, and political asymmetry" in AI, where data and influence are concentrated.
- Transparency is deemed essential, with a call for clarity on who is responsible for instilling ethics and rules in AI systems within tech companies. The public should remain skeptical of AI's supposedly objective results, as they are shaped by human criteria.
- The text stresses that AI lacks human experiences, emotions, moral conscience, and the capacity for moral thinking, requiring human input for ethical guardrails. It argues for public debate and AI accountability to higher authority, but criticizes the Pope's downplaying of elected national governments.
- Instead of international bodies or interest groups, the article suggests that strong national governments, particularly the executive branch backed by popular authority, are better equipped to respond swiftly to AI's rapid advancement. It calls for AI regulation to gain the support of national leaders and their voters, implying a need to engage with a broader, more nationalistic audience.
