Pope Leo XIV issues AI encyclical urging regulation of digital power

In May 2026 Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, released the social encyclical *Magnifica Humanitas*. The 245‑paragraph document addresses artificial intelligence, calling for safeguards against digital monopolies, autonomous weapons and what the Pope describes as “digital colonialism.”

German commentator Raffaele Gaito notes that media focused on the word “disarm” while the encyclical stresses broader ethical concerns about the concentration of AI technology in the hands of a few Silicon‑Valley firms. Gaito highlights three layers of meaning: historic (the Vatican’s first AI‑focused encyclical), political (filling a debate gap left by politicians and academia), and substantive (urging active, non‑emotive public engagement with AI). The Pope’s background—Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago, appointed cardinal, and elected in May 2025—adds symbolic weight to the document’s global reach.