Pope Leo XIV calls for AI to be 'disarmed,' urges ban on lethal autonomous weapons

Pope Leo XIV's address did not arrive in a vacuum. In May he issued his first major papal document, which highlighted "safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence," and Friday's remarks explicitly reflect many of those ideas. The Vatican's engagement with the issue also has a recent precedent: in 2024, Pope Francis called for a ban on autonomous weapons, saying, "No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being." Pope Leo has suggested he chose his name because he must confront advances in the technology, similar to how Pope Leo XIII presided over the church at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution.

The address pairs a ban on lethal autonomous weapons with a broader argument about human control. Pope Leo warns about the dangers of granting AI systems rights or legal personhood, and says "Decisions affecting human life, freedom, and the use of force must always remain subject to effective, informed, and responsible human oversight." He closes by calling for international institutions to safeguard the common good from AI-related risks, along with "shared standards, independent oversight and clear mechanisms of accountability so that decisions concerning the development and use of AI can be examined, challenged when necessary, and accompanied by appropriate remedies for any harm caused." The Geneva meeting next month is the first venue where governments could respond to that call in practice.