# Pope’s AI Advisor Warns of Lab Cartel Risks

> Pope’s AI advisor fears big labs form a cartel by ignoring public debate on AI safety.
- Title: Pope’s AI Advisor Warns of Lab Cartel Risks · WIRED | Shortify
- Summary: Pope’s AI advisor fears big labs form a cartel by ignoring public debate on AI safety. Father Paolo Benanti warns AI labs risk becoming a cartel by excluding…
- Keywords: pope, cartel, labs, safety, pope leo xiv, encyclical, openai, anthropic, father paolo benanti, ai ethics, democratic regulation, Advisor
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/popes-ai-advisor-warns-of-cartel-behavior-big-labs
- Author: Joel Khalili
- Published: 2026-09-23T17:53:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: pope, ai, cartel, labs, safety, pope leo xiv, encyclical, openai, anthropic, father paolo benanti, ai ethics, democratic regulation
## AI Safety Warnings
Researchers warn AI development could extinguish humanity due to rapid progress and US-China rivalry.
## Father Paolo Benanti’s View
Benanti says ethics must be debated publicly, not controlled by company boards, for democratic regulation.

> Ethics cannot be something that belongs to the board of trustees of a company. It’s something that has to be balanced, mitigated in debate in the public square.
## AI Safety Proposals
Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei calls for mandatory third-party AI model evaluations and crackdown on distillation.
## Cartel Concerns
Benanti warns big labs form a cartel by self-interestedly dictating AI rules without public input.

> This has a really clear name: a cartel.
## Superintelligence Debate
Benanti criticizes AI industry’s reverence for superintelligence as divine, saying it risks delusion about machine capabilities.

> We are not building the next divinity. We are simply deluding ourselves that there is something more than statistical computation.
## Pope’s Encyclical
Pope Leo XIV published an encyclical on AI, warning against technocratic logic and urging international collaboration.

> The danger of humanity becoming a victim of its own achievements.
## Human Control Needed
Benanti stresses the need for human brakes and control over AI to prevent lab dominance.

> We need brakes, and a wheel. That means a significant position of control for human beings over the machine.
## Key takeaway

Father Paolo Benanti warns AI labs risk becoming a cartel by excluding public input on safety standards.