Magnifica Humanitas – Pope Leo XIV

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Pope Leo – Magnifica Humanitas

The first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, on safeguarding the human person in the time of Artificial Intelligence

In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the moral and social challenges of artificial intelligence. He calls on IT companies, governments, institutions, and technology developers to adopt shared standards of social justice that keep human dignity and the common good at the centre of innovation.

He stresses that AI is not morally neutral. He says it is shaped by human choices in both design and use. For this reason, technology must be guided by ethical responsibility from its very foundation, not only in how it is applied. He also warns that ethical intentions are not enough if control of AI remains concentrated in the hands of a few powerful players, as this can deepen existing global inequalities.

The encyclical applies core principles of Catholic Social Doctrine, including human dignity, justice, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good. These are the guiding criteria for evaluating whether technology truly serves humanity. It highlights the risk of a growing technocratic mindset, where efficiency becomes the highest value and human beings are reduced to data, productivity, or systems to be optimised.