Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas (Latin: “Magnificent Humanity”) cautions against the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI). The encyclical’s title sums up the pope’s message that human dignity and the common good must take precedence over technological efficiency. In the document, Leo states, “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human.”
Magnifica humanitas does not condemn technology itself but rather reckless and irresponsible technological development that encourages division and war.
Among the encyclical’s most striking passages are those that compare AI to the Tower of Babel, an ambitious construction project in Babylon described in Genesis. According to the story, the Tower of Babel was thwarted by God and resulted in the confusion of languages among peoples.
The document also includes a historic apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in slavery. Leo compares the “various forms of servitude directly linked to the digital economy” to slavery, and he details the invisible labor and often dangerous conditions that fuel AI’s “economic chains and digital infrastructures.” In addition, he calls just war theory “outdated” and claims that the theory has been used to justify “any kind of war.”
Magnifica humanitas is also a vigorous defense of the human worker and calls for protecting workers’ rights and human rights against the rise of AI. Significantly, the pope signed the document on May 15, 2026, the anniversary of the publication of Rerum novarum (“Of New Things”), an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 that addresses the impact of the Industrial Revolution on human labor and society.