The Vatican has issued its most consequential technology document in decades. Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pope, unveiled his inaugural encyclical on May 25, titled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. The document warns that unchecked artificial intelligence could erode human dignity and create modern forms of bondage. It calls for international regulatory cooperation, positioning the Catholic Church as a moral compass for the global AI race.
The encyclical was presented exactly 135 years after Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers' rights during the Industrial Revolution. Where that document confronted the human costs of industrialization, Magnifica Humanitas tackles the human costs of automation and algorithmic decision-making.
The Vatican launch event featured Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, the AI safety lab behind the Claude model family. Olah’s presence bridges one of the world’s oldest institutions with one of its newest technology companies, both focused on safety and human welfare.
The encyclical contains no references to cryptocurrency, blockchain, or digital assets. This omission signals that the Vatican views AI as the defining technological challenge of this era, not decentralized finance.