By Basant El-Faramawy
Pope Leo XIV on Friday told a Vatican gathering of artificial intelligence researchers and experts that the “most urgent” challenge facing the AI race is the need for international institutions to put ethical principles into practice.
Call for shared standards and accountability
The American pope, who has made AI a key priority, said the principles are already known but what is missing are institutions that can effectively safeguard the global common good. He called for shared standards, independent oversight, and clear mechanisms of accountability so that decisions on AI development and use can be examined, challenged, and accompanied by remedies for any harm caused.
Vatican meeting co-sponsored by bioethics think tank
The meeting was held in the Vatican and co-sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Life, the Vatican’s bioethics think tank, and the Future of Life Institute. It provided a platform for the Vatican’s in-house AI commission to engage with experts in the field.
Encyclical ‘Magnificent Humanity’ underscores regulation
Leo’s 2026 encyclical, “Magnificent Humanity,” called for robust regulation of AI and for developers to work for the common good rather than profit. On Friday, he highlighted key points from the encyclical, insisting that the future of AI is not predetermined and depends on choices made today by developers and political leaders.
Machines are tools, not persons
The pope stressed that machines are tools, not persons, and should not be granted legal status or delegated to make life-or-death decisions. He said the institutional ethical framework remains the most urgent among all challenges facing the AI field.
