Topline
Pope Leo XIV will present a major Church document on artificial intelligence next week and he will be joined by Chris Olah, the billionaire co-founder of Anthropic, the AI giant that has cautioned about the use of AI for dangerous means, and has run afoul (like the pope) of President Trump.
Pope Leo XIV will unveil an encyclical letter on AI next week. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Leo will present “Magnifica humanitas,” the first encyclical letter of his papacy, at the Vatican on May 25, which the Church said Monday morning will discuss “preserving the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.”
Popes typically author a few encyclical letters during their tenures, which offer guidance on Church teachings (Francis, Leo’s predecessor, issued four encyclicals during his 12-year papacy, including a nearly 200-page letter urging action on climate change).
Leo will present the encyclical alongside multiple speakers, including cardinals, academics and Olah, who co-founded Anthropic in 2021 with six other former OpenAI employees and serves as a lead researcher.
It’s not yet clear what the pope’s letter will say, but Leo has offered critiques of AI in the past, warning in previous remarks the technology “cannot replace human intelligence” and cannot judge between right and wrong.
Days earlier, the Vatican announced Leo had created a study group on AI ahead of his encyclical to examine the technology’s “potential effects on human beings” and “the church’s concern for the dignity of every human being.”
The Vatican’s Growing Tensions With Trump Administration
The Trump administration has increasingly lashed out at the pope, a steadfast critic of the war in Iran. Trump called Leo, in a Truth Social post in April, “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Trump has repeatedly falsely accused Leo of supporting Iran’s right to have a nuclear weapon, which Leo has not said. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, also warned Leo to “be careful” when speaking on theological matters, citing the pope’s anti-war comments. Vance’s comments prompted a rebuke from a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee, which said Leo’s remarks uphold the Church’s longstanding teaching that war is only justified “in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.” A report in the Free Press claimed in a January meeting Pentagon officials were threatening to a Vatican official, though the Pentagon denied this in a statement and called the report “highly exaggerated.”
Anthropic’s Growing Tensions With Trump
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a February blog post he opposes the Defense Department’s use of Anthropic technology for mass domestic surveillance and to power fully autonomous weapons. The post prompted a swift rebuke from Trump, who slammed Anthropic as a “radical left, woke company” and ordered federal agencies to stop using its technology. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he would designate Anthropic as a “supply chain risk to national security,” prompting the AI company to sue the government. Earlier this month, the Pentagon’s CTO Emil Michael said Anthropic is still considered a national security risk, but its advanced Mythos technology is “a separate national security moment,” and members of the administration met with Anthropic about its powerful new model. Politico reported in late April the administration is trying to forge a “ceasefire” with Anthropic, citing six unnamed tech lobbyists and policy experts, two of whom have ties to the White House. Olah has previously criticized Trump, acknowledging in a January post on X he stays out of politics but that the administration’s immigration raids “shock the conscience.”
Tangent
Leo on Thursday warned against the use of AI technology in warfare in a speech at Rome’s La Sapienza University, saying such weaponry could send the world into a “spiral of annihilation.” He urged better regulation of AI technology in the military “so that it does not absolve humans of responsibility for their choices and does not exacerbate the tragedy of conflicts.”
Forbes Valuation
Olah is worth $7 billion, according to Forbes estimates, placing him No. 546 on Forbes’ list of the wealthiest people in the world.
Further Reading
Pope Leo Says It Is ‘Not In My Interest’ To Debate Trump Amid Washington-Vatican Clash (Forbes)