Pope Leo XIV's 'Magnifica Humanitas': A 40,000-Word Encyclical on AI Disarmament

Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), on May 15, 2026, with the co-founder of Anthropic at his side in Rome. The 40,000-word document calls for AI to be “disarmed” in service of the common good, deliberately using strong language to “attract attention, awaken consciences, and indicate paths forward for humanity.”

Key Critiques

• Autonomous weapons: Uncompromising critique of AI-powered weapons systems.
• Data colonialism: Comparing tech elites to colonial conquerors, the encyclical warns that health data, epidemiological profiles, genetic maps, and demographic information are the “new rare earths” of power, used to train predictive models, guide investment, and “determine who and what is deemed to matter.”
• Monopolistic control: Criticizes hoarding of “patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructure, and data” as “new forms of property.”

The “Disarmament” Framework

Leo argues that AI must be freed “from monopolistic control and opening it to discussion and debate, therefore making it human-friendly and restoring it to the plurality of human cultures and ways of life.” Mere regulation is “insufficient.” The approach is framed as an “ecological project” that orients AI toward human flourishing.

AI as Tool, Not Intelligence

The Vatican itself is using AI—an AI-powered system translates services at St. Peter’s into 60 languages on smartphones. However, the encyclical stresses that AI systems “merely imitate certain functions of human intelligence” and “do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain... nor do they have a moral conscience.” Elevating “intelligence” overshadows “affection, the will, commitment, and relationships.”

Historical Context

Leo signed the document on May 15, the anniversary of Rerum Novarum (1891), which set out Catholic social teaching during capitalist upheaval. The new encyclical updates that teaching for the age of AI, which Leo calls the “res novae of our time.”