Pope Leo warns AI could undermine humanity during France visit

Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that a “paradise of machines” could erode humanity, using the opening day of a four-day visit to France to call for ethical oversight of artificial intelligence and renewed respect for human life.

Speaking to President Emmanuel Macron and other officials at the Élysée Palace, then to diplomats and United Nations employees at UNESCO headquarters, Leo questioned whether scientific progress was keeping pace with the protection of human dignity. He also condemned nuclear deterrence, calling the doctrine “mistaken” and saying it was fueling a new arms race.

“Peace is not a balance of power; rather, it is built day by day through dialogue and justice,” he said.

On AI, the pope warned that technological advances could reshape how people value one another. “The paradox has become increasingly evident: while ‘intelligence’ is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognize the inalienable dignity of human persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, are rejected and discarded,” he said.

“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good,” Leo said. Since the start of his pontificate, he has identified AI as a major challenge and called for regulation and development that serves the common good rather than profit.

Speaking to reporters on his way to Paris, Leo said he was encouraged by the Vatican’s dialogue with technology companies and hoped it would continue. Many developers appeared open to ensuring AI would be “a tool for human beings” rather than displace or destroy humanity, he said.

Leo also warned that scientific progress should not become “profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one’s own death,” according to Al Jazeera. His remarks came as France debates the place of religion in public life and the protection of life. The right to abortion was enshrined in France’s constitution in 2024, and lawmakers recently gave final approval to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, NPR reported. France’s Catholic hierarchy opposed both measures.

The pope urged France to remember its “deep Christian roots” and described the right to life as the “indispensable foundation of every other human right.” He also said “authentic secularity” should not exclude religion from public life or education.

The trip is the first official papal state visit to France in 18 years. Church bells rang when Leo landed at Paris’ Orly airport, and crowds lined his route through the capital. More than a million people were expected to see him over the visit, NPR reported; the Vatican estimated about 300,000 came out Friday, according to Al Jazeera. Thousands also cheered as he prayed at a stadium near Paris.

Macron called the visit “a source of hope” and said France stood for peace, international law and the United Nations Charter “because every life has equal value, and all peoples must be defended.” Thanking Leo for making an extended visit, Macron told him: “You are here with us for an extended visit, giving us your time, and that is moving.”