Pope Leo XIV handed out his papal vision on Saturday, describing artificial intelligence as one of humanity’s most pressing issues.
In his first formal audience, Leo stated unequivocally that he will continue Pope Francis’ modernising reforms to make the Catholic Church more inclusive, sensitive to the faithful, and a church that looks out for the “least and rejected.”
He constantly cited Francis, telling the cardinals who chose him that he was totally devoted to the Second Vatican Council reforms, which modernized the church in the 1960s.
He highlighted artificial intelligence as one of humanity’s most pressing issues, stating that technology poses obstacles to preserving human dignity, justice, and work.
Leo referred to AI in explaining the choice of his name: His namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was pope from 1878 to 1903 and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought.
He did so most famously with his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the dawn of the industrial age.
The late pope criticised both laissez-faire capitalism and state-centric socialism, giving shape to a distinctly Catholic vein of economic teaching.
