Pope Leo XIV knows an ethical approach to artificial intelligence is not enough, and he will stress the need to embrace the Christian vision of humanity and creation in his upcoming encyclical, a papal academy said. Source: OSV News.
A set of ethical guidelines by itself is just “a cold code of regulations” that are difficult to enforce, Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, told reporters on Monday.
The Vatican announced Pope Leo’s first encyclical will be released on Monday, May 25, titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), focusing on the protection of the human person in the age of AI.
“It’s clear that if we were to organise a code of ethics,” he said, then profit-driven tech giants “would manipulate it, bypass it and exploit it as they please”. After all, “how many charters of fundamental human rights have been written? They’re beautiful. But then, who has abided by them?”
“We must change the human heart,” which requires a “true great political and social revolution” of recognising the earth as a gift and all human beings as children of God who deserve love, solidarity and protection, Bishop Staglianò said.
Bishop Staglianò and others spoke during a presentation of a new initiative by the academy to create an “observatory” or “hub” dedicated to bringing multiple stakeholders together to monitor and propose concrete proposals for building a sustainable “digital” ecology that respects all of creation, including the mental and relational well-being of young people.
Pope Leo had told members of the papal academy on September 13, 2025, that the social doctrine of the Church must be at the service of all of humanity “in all its dimensions — personal, social and political” — as well as “provide wise answers to digital challenges”.
“Theology must be directly involved because an exclusively ethical approach to the complex world of artificial intelligence is not enough,” the Pope said.
“Instead, we need to refer to an anthropological vision that underpins ethical action and, therefore, return to the age-old question: What is a human being? What is his or her inherent dignity, which is irreconcilable with a digital android?”
Bishop Staglianò said that in the new encyclical, “Pope Leo will surely give us guidelines, not only ethical but theological guidelines for the future of our humanity in a new world ahead, a new world in times to come with a peace that’s disarmed and disarming.”
FULL STORY
Pope will show an ethical code for AI is not enough, head of papal academy says (By Carol Glatz, OSV News)
