AI goes religious as Pope enters the fray - ET BrandEquity

Highlights

• Pope Leo XIV warns against AI's concentration of power and dehumanization.
• The encyclical connects AI's risks with the legacy of Rerum Novarum.
• Pope advocates for robust regulation and ethical oversight in technology.

The book, written in English, is ∼43,000 words, spread over 235 pages. The book has 5 chapters: Foundations of Catholic Social Doctrine → Technology & Dominance → Safeguarding Humanity: Truth, Work, Freedom → Culture of Power & Civilization of Love

The core warnings from the encyclical are about AI concentration and how technological power is now “predominantly ‘private’” and concentrated in the hands of a few, evading public oversight. On Regulation it calls for “robust legal frameworks, independent oversight” — not just ethics. Data ownership it says “cannot be left solely in private hands”. Warfare is a key focus of the Pope’s book. AI use in war needs “the most rigorous ethical restraints”. “No algorithm can make war morally acceptable”, emphasizes the head of the Christian faith. Another key dimension is Dehumanization. It warns against a new “Tower of Babel” — tech development that “dominates and ultimately dehumanizes”. Risk of reducing humans “to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency” is flagged emphatically. The book also draws attention to Transhumanism. Takes aim at efforts to use tech to augment human performance.

The Pope’s central metaphor is to build “Jerusalem” not “Babel” — communion vs. homogenizing power. The book explicitly links to Rerum Novarum. Leo XIII had addressed the Industrial Revolution; Leo XIV addresses AI as the new res novae. Leo XIII defended workers against 19th-century exploitation; Leo XIV argues “opaque algorithms” controlled by private firms now threaten “new forms of dehumanization”. The timing matters: AI weapons, deepfakes, and labor disruption went mainstream 2023-2025. The Vatican is stepping in when regulation is lagging.
Pope Leo XIV broke tradition and presented the encyclical himself, alongside Chris Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic. Anthropic recently limited weapons systems powered by its AI, putting it in legal dispute with the Trump administration. The key questions that were asked were:

• Does AI help me remain faithful to truth?
• Does it help educate me and others?
• Does it cultivate genuine closeness vs. replacing presence?
• Does it promote justice and peace?

(The author heads the Aesthetic Intelligence Lab and is an AI evangelist. Views are personal.)