Pope Leo XIV issued his inaugural encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on May 25, 2026, highlighting the ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence and its potential to create new forms of “slavery.” In his 42,300-word declaration, the pope warned against the dangers of AI undermining human dignity and urged governments to regulate the technology to prevent mass job losses. He emphasized the need for retraining and educational efforts for those at risk from AI advancements. The encyclical was presented at an event attended by prominent church figures and Christopher Olah, co-founder of the left-leaning AI company Anthropic, with whom the Church plans to collaborate to navigate the implications of AI for humanity. Encyclicals are among the highest forms of papal teaching directed at the Catholic Church’s 1.4 billion members worldwide.

Anthropic: Anthropic is an AI company specializing in safe and interpretable artificial intelligence technologies. Its co-founder Christopher Olah attended the encyclical unveiling event and leads the company’s interpretability efforts. The firm is now collaborating directly with the Catholic Church to address the societal and ethical dimensions of AI.
Pope Leo XIV: Pope Leo XIV serves as the leader of the Catholic Church. He issued the first papal encyclical dedicated to artificial intelligence, entitled Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses ethical concerns around AI development and deployment. The pontiff used the document to announce a cooperation agreement with Anthropic aimed at guiding humanity through the AI era.
Christopher Olah: Christopher Olah is a co-founder of Anthropic and leads its interpretability team. He participated in the event where Pope Leo XIV presented the new encyclical on AI. His involvement underscores the partnership between the Church and the AI startup.

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“Papal Teaching”: “Encyclicals represent one of the highest forms of teaching authority from a pope directed at the Catholic Church’s global membership.”,
“Church-AI Partnership”: “The Catholic Church and Anthropic have agreed to cooperate to find a path for humanity in the age of artificial intelligence.”
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