Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has called for stronger laws and responsible oversight of artificial intelligence, warning that rapid technological development must never come at the cost of human dignity, freedom or family life.
The Pope made the remarks while addressing the International Catholic Legislators Network at the Vatican on Friday. He urged lawmakers to create legal systems that encourage scientific and technological progress while also protecting people from possible harm caused by emerging technologies.
Pope Leo said good legislation should protect fundamental rights and freedoms, safeguard personal privacy, prevent exploitation and promote transparency in the way new technologies are developed and used. He also stressed that artificial intelligence should support democratic institutions rather than weaken them.
The Pope said the growing influence of AI requires strong legal frameworks, independent oversight and users who understand how the technology works. He also called for political leaders to remain responsible rather than allowing technology companies or other powerful interests to make decisions that affect society without proper public oversight.
According to Pope Leo, discussions about artificial intelligence should take place at local, national and international levels. He said countries need to work together to establish common ethical standards based on social justice. Such cooperation, he argued, would help prevent any single ideology, government or economic interest from deciding which values are built into AI systems.
The Pope also raised concerns about the growing technological gap between wealthy and poorer countries. He warned that nations with fewer resources could become increasingly dependent on richer countries for advanced technologies and digital systems.
He urged lawmakers to remain alert to what he described as a possible new form of technological and economic domination. Innovation, he said, should not become another form of colonialism in which poorer societies depend heavily on more powerful nations.
Pope Leo also pointed to the growing influence of algorithms and digital platforms in everyday life. He warned that technology can create subtle forms of control when algorithms determine which people or ideas receive attention, while others become less visible.
He said digital platforms can also influence public discussion without sufficient accountability. At the same time, he expressed concern that workers could be treated as little more than parts of an automated system when efficiency becomes more important than human dignity.
The Pope said these developments reflect an old human desire for power and control, but in a new technological form. Against this culture of domination, he presented the Church's vision of what he called a civilization of love.
At the centre of that vision, Pope Leo placed the family. He described the family as the first school of humanity, where people learn important values before they encounter the wider world.
He said family life teaches people to build trust rather than simply calculate benefits, to practise generosity rather than constant competition, and to choose dialogue instead of division. Most importantly, he said, the family teaches people about love before they learn about power.
For this reason, Pope Leo warned that artificial intelligence must not weaken family relationships. He expressed concern about technology reducing people and relationships to data, exposing young people to harmful or confusing content, or contributing to economic conditions that make family life increasingly difficult.
The Pope therefore called on lawmakers to support policies that strengthen marriage and families. He also urged governments to support parents in raising and educating their children and to create conditions that allow young people to look toward the future with confidence.
His message was not a rejection of artificial intelligence. Instead, Pope Leo argued that technology should remain under the guidance of human wisdom and ethical responsibility.
He said the world does not need artificial intelligence that makes people less human. What is needed, he said, is human intelligence guided by wisdom, political authority guided by conscience and technological progress directed toward the common good.
Pope Leo concluded by expressing hope that the discussions of the International Catholic Legislators Network would produce positive results for individual nations and for humanity as a whole.
His remarks underline a growing challenge for governments and societies as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply connected to education, employment, communication and family life. For Pope Leo, the central question is not simply how powerful AI can become, but whether that power will ultimately be used to serve people and protect the dignity of every human being.