Pope Leo’s First AI Encyclical – Summary and Commentary
type: NewsArticle
description: Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, *Magnifica Humanitas*, addressing artificial intelligence and calling for global moral engagement with the technology. The document warns against using AI to exploit and dehumanize while acknowledging its potential benefits, though it notably omits explicit discussion of AGI, catastrophic risk, or transformative economic impacts. The encyclical focuses on current AI systems and urges shared discernment, positioning itself as the beginning of a broader conversation rather than a definitive final word.
date published: 2026-05-25 23:48:46+00:00
date modified: 2026-05-26 08:16:26.990141+00:00
language: en
is accessible for free: true
article body: *(Adapted from a **post** on my Substack.)* Today, Pope Leo XIV released his long-awaited encyclical letter about artificial intelligence, addressed not just to the Catholic Church, but to all people of good will, all over the world. Titled *Magnifica Humanitas* (“Magnificent Humanity”), it is a powerful invitation to worldwide engagement on questions that I believe will decide the future of humankind. I urge you all to read the [encyclical](https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html) itself, but I recognize that it is very long, and the theological language may be challenging, especially for LessWrong readers from outside the Catholic faith tradition. So I offer the following post as a guide to understanding this world-historic document in terms that I intend to be accessible to all, even if you’re not religious and not familiar with the technical details of AI. That said, *Magnifica Humanitas* is long enough and dense enough that even a detailed summary is lengthy. So I will begin the post with an overview of high-level takeaways for those short on time. After that, I’ll give a summary of the entire encyclical, highlighting key passages, and contextualizing the questions that Pope Leo grapples with across the scientific and policy landscapes. I’ll analyze what’s notably said and left unsaid, and how the encyclical lays the groundwork for future engagement by the Church on these issues. In several areas, I offer respectful critiques of the encyclical intended as constructive suggestions for those future engagements. Bottom line: Pope Leo gives us a wise and practical document, filled with forceful moral critiques of those who would use AI to exploit and dehumanize. He appreciates the benefits AI can bring, but urgently calls the world to the shared work and discernment necessary to achieve a flourishing future. The encyclical focuses on today’s technology, and future AI will pose new and even-more-urgent moral …
publisher: Web Pulse
keywords: ai-ethics, ai-policy, artificial-intelligence
mentions: Pope Leo XIV
mentions: Catholic Church
mentions: Magnifica Humanitas
citation: CreativeWork