Pope Leo XIV called for artificial intelligence systems to be disarmed in his papal address on Friday, October 30, urging United Nations member states to move toward a ban on lethal autonomous weapons. His appeal comes ahead of a meeting of member states in Geneva in November, where he encouraged them to take concrete action on the issue.
The pope placed responsibility for the use of AI with human beings, saying people must direct the technology, alter its applications and reject them when necessary. He said decisions involving human life, freedom and the use of force must remain under human oversight that is effective, informed and responsible. His remarks linked the call to restrict autonomous weapons with the broader responsibility to maintain human control over AI.
Pope Leo also warned against giving artificial intelligence systems rights or recognizing them as legal persons. “Machines are tools, not persons,” he told participants. That distinction accompanied his insistence that responsibility for decisions affecting people must remain subject to human oversight, including decisions concerning the use of force.
The address returned to ideas presented in May in his first major papal document. That encyclical emphasized protecting the human person amid the development of artificial intelligence. In Friday’s remarks, the pope again addressed the relationship between people and the technology, combining his warning about legal personhood with calls for controls on how AI is developed and used.
His position on autonomous weapons follows a similar appeal from Pope Francis in 2024. Francis called for a ban and said, “No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.” Both appeals addressed the role of machines in decisions involving human life.
Artificial intelligence has become a recurring subject for Pope Leo. He has suggested that his choice of papal name reflected the need to confront advances in the technology, drawing a parallel with Pope Leo XIII, who led the church during the Industrial Revolution.
At the end of his address, Pope Leo urged international institutions to protect the common good from risks associated with AI. He called for shared standards, independent oversight and clear accountability mechanisms. Those arrangements, he said, should allow decisions about AI development and use to be examined and challenged when necessary, with appropriate remedies for any resulting harm.
