Pope Leo XIV to Issue Historic AI-Related Encyclical at Vatican, Featuring Expertise of Anthropic Co-Founder

Pope Leo XIV to Launch Encyclical on AI and Human Dignity

On May 25, Pope Leo XIV and Christopher Olah, co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic, will launch the pontiff's first encyclical, a document on the care of human dignity in the era of AI. The Vatican announced the launch on Monday, highlighting the significance of the event.

The presence of Christopher Olah at the Vatican is particularly noteworthy, as it suggests that the US pope's position on AI will become a new flashpoint with the Trump administration. In February, the Trump administration ordered all US agencies to stop using Anthropic's artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties for refusing to allow the US military unrestricted use of its AI technology. Anthropic is currently suing the administration, which it has accused of retaliating against it illegally because of its attempt to impose limits on how its AI technology can be deployed.

Pope Leo XIV has made AI a priority of his young pontificate, and is greatly concerned about AI in warfare. He has called for monitoring of how the technology is used. The pope's presence at the launch of the document, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), is also significant, as such presentations are usually conducted in the Vatican press room with a few selected officials and invited guests who answer reporters' questions about the document.

Read also: Kumar Mangalam Birla to Address Concluding Function of RSS Training Camp

This time, the Vatican is bringing out an all-star cast for a formal launch in the main Vatican auditorium. Two of its top cardinals, doctrine chief Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernandez and development chief Cardinal Michael Czerny, will be the main presenters. Christopher Olah will be among the lay speakers, along with theologians Anna Rowlands and Leocadie Lushombo. The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, will offer a conclusion, and Pope Leo XIV will make a speech and provide a final blessing.

Pope Leo XIV signed the document on May 15, 135 years to the day after his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, signed his most important encyclical, "Rerum Novarum," or Of New Things. That document addressed workers' rights, the limits of capitalism, and the obligations that states and employers owed workers as the Industrial Revolution was underway. It became the foundation of modern Catholic social thought, and the current pope has already cited it in relation to the AI revolution, which he believes poses the same existential questions that the Industrial Revolution posed over a century ago.

Comparison of Valuations of Leading AI Companies

Read also: The Cost of Healthcare: Why Predictability in Medical Inflation is Crucial for Health Insurance

Background on Anthropic

Anthropic's co-founder, Christopher Olah, had worked at OpenAI before he and a group quit to form Anthropic in 2021. They disagreed with OpenAI chief Sam Altman about AI safety. The newer company promised a clearer focus on the safety of the better-than-human technology called artificial general intelligence that both San Francisco firms aim to build.