Pope Leo XIV urges AI dialogue at Geneva’s AI for Good summit

Pope Leo XIV (the pontiff) addressed participants of the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland (July 7‑10, 2026) with a message signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. In the letter he affirmed the Holy See’s readiness to dialogue with scientists, engineers, political leaders, parents and teachers about artificial intelligence, emphasizing the need to protect human dignity and agency.

The Pope’s recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released in late May 2026, warns that AI poses risks of data extraction, “technological slavery,” and a loss of human agency that could reduce persons to mere data sets. It calls for prudence, rigorous evaluation and, in some statements, for “disarming” AI to prevent domination and ensure the technology serves humanity rather than controls it. The encyclical urges the establishment of ethical rules, fair distribution of benefits and the safeguarding of freedom and discernment.

The summit, organized by the International Telecommunication Union and other UN agencies together with the Swiss government, aims to explore AI’s role in solving global challenges. Pope Leo XIV’s message highlighted the encyclical’s dual inspiration—listening to innovators working to alleviate suffering and reacting to troubling accounts of algorithmic misuse—and asked all stakeholders to identify new paths for the common good.