From PhillyVoice · · 1m 10s
Pope Leo XIV on AI
Pope Leo XIV says AI lacks humanity's spark, urging church to protect artists.
In brief
Pope Leo XIV says AI lacks humanity's spark, urging church to protect artists. Pope Leo XIV states algorithms cannot possess humanity, so the church will support human creators to safeguard humanity. Originally reported by PhillyVoice.
Pope Leo XIV's AI stance
Pope Leo XIV made a social media post Friday establishing support for human artists over AI creations.
“Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) October 2, 2026”
Ontological difference in art
He said there's an ontological difference between art and what machines generate through statistical calculation.
“There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others”
Algorithms lack humanity
Algorithms lack the spark of humanity, so the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists to safeguard humanity.
“Algorithms lack the spark of humanity”
Church encyclical
The Church's first encyclical, 'Magnifica Humanitas', centers on technology never replacing humanity.
“Magnifica Humanitas”
Humanity over machines
He wrote humans could risk becoming a commodity if technology becomes too present in everyday life.
“We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace”
AI consciousness
Pope Leo says machines cannot become conscious, do not feel joy or pain, or mature through relationships.
“So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships”
Pope Leo's background
Pope Leo XIV, a Villanova alumnus with a mathematics degree, became the first American pope in July 2026.
“Pope Leo XIV, a native of Chicago and Villanova grad with a degree in mathematics”
Safeguarding humanity
The Church aims to safeguard humanity by renewing alliances with artists and cultural institutions.
“For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity”
Here's the gist
Pope Leo XIV states algorithms cannot possess humanity, so the church will support human creators to safeguard humanity.
