Pope Leo Declares War on AI Abuse

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:01]Welcome back. Pope Leo is putting artificial intelligence at the center of his papacy, using his first encyclical, one of the Catholic Church's most important teaching document to warn about the risk to humanity from the technology. The Pontiff warning that AI could turn people into cogs in a machine as powerful tech companies race to build more advanced systems with limited oversight. Joining me now to discuss is John Busy of the Wall Street Journal.

[00:00:28]John Pope Leo is basically saying that AI could be used to control and harm people if it falls into the wrong hands.

[00:00:36]Saying this specifically, take a listen.

[00:00:38]>> Every great technical power can affect people's lives and so must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control.

[00:00:47]Artificial intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion, and death.

[00:01:00]>> How much impact do you think the Pope can have on a debate like this, on a technology like this that really seems to have a life of its own?

[00:01:10]>> It does seem to have a life of its own.

[00:01:12]Uh it seems that way because it it it definitely is that way. Uh the these are companies that are racing against each other to build out the most advanced AI system. Uh they're competing against each other in the United States. They're competing against China. Uh and there does not uh seem to be any regulation uh over over this. I think most people at this stage are just marveling at this new technology. It is really extraordinary the power of it. uh even in the sort of the mundane uses that the average person might put it to, it's being used to solve mathematical problems that have been stumping mathematicians for, you know, centuries.

[00:01:52]So, uh I think at this point he's stepping into a debate where he has a a bit of a tailwind. uh that is that there are a lot of communities be they graduating uh college seniors uh that are looking for jobs and are worried about being displaced by AI or could be communities that are resisting all these data centers that are going up and tapping electricity use. Um but there really isn't there really isn't a galvanizing force that is standing up to the big companies that are developing these these technologies. And I think that's what he's attempting to do to step into that role.

[00:02:30]>> Speaking of one of the big companies developing this technology, I thought it was interesting that the Pope was joined by anthropic co-founder Christopher Olad during the presentation today. What do you make of the company's role here? You know, in the world of AI, there is this sense that they are a little bit more credible or they have um awareness of the ethical concerns around AI compared to others. How do you read that?

[00:02:54]>> Well, I think that that's right. Um and it was fascinating that he sat next to a a tech bro right a co-founder of Anthropic uh but also also a company that has already tangled with the White House over the issue of safety. Uh they did not want uh some of its uh technology AI technology used by the Department of Defense. Um and >> uh the DoD resisted that and kind of put them on their their bad list. Uh so I I I think that Anthropic is kind of has positioned itself. I don't think intentionally I think it's just the culture within the company that says look we do have to worry about the moral issues here. Uh the Catholic Church is kind of raising some of the same issues that Anthropic has raised about safety.

[00:03:42]The Catholic Church is going a little bit further. You know it has always kind of put a a sort of a a hand up to capitalism and said wait a second. uh you know during the industrial age it did so and said how about the jobs you know how about the safety of of society how about the coherence of society and it's doing so again now u holding up a hand of you know of sort of asking to wait a moment let's reassess let's see if we can somehow oversee this type two new technology uh doing so holding up the hand against these companies in Silicon Valley >> thank you for watching subscribe below and download our NewsNation app right now on your phone and you will get fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans.