Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence, ‘Magnificent Humanity’
Pope Leo XIV has issued an in-depth papal encyclical on the need for AI to lift human dignity and the common good. We have early analysis and a link to the full document.
May 25, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV on Monday issued a remarkable 42,300-word papal encyclical on artificial intelligence.
Titled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, the full official English-language version can be found here. The title is Latin for Magnificent Humanity.
The encyclical letter speaks of Pope Leo XIV’s desire to protect human dignity and agency in an age in which AI is emerging and growing at near-overwhelming speed. The letter covers a wide variety of AI-related topics, including responsibility and transparency, the dignity of work, and special concerns for families and young people. The overall theme speaks to the pontiff championing human autonomy, freedom, “the dignity of individuals” and the importance of guiding the power of AI for “the common good.”
Read the full document
Select image to open full English-language version of the encyclical.
‘it is necessary to establish adequate regulatory tools’
Pope Leo wrote: “In recent years, it has become increasingly evident how rapidly and profoundly digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are transforming our world. Technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity. On the contrary, it has formed part of our history since the beginning as ‘a profoundly human reality, linked to the autonomy and freedom of man.’”
He noted that “each phase of progress has also revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good. Today, however, we find ourselves facing a new situation. The power and prevalence of emerging technologies are interwoven into the fabric of daily life, shaping decision-making processes and deeply affecting the collective imagination: ‘Never has humanity had such power over itself.’ New technologies open up a horizon extending in directions that are imaginable but not yet fully predictable. This complicates the assessment of their potential impact and the long-term effects they may have on both the dignity of individuals and the common good.”
“It is necessary,” the pontiff wrote, “to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power.”
concern over ‘technological power’ in private hands
The issue, he added, “is not limited to regulation.”
“In the past, it was largely up to the State to guide and direct innovation. Today, however, the main drivers of development are private, often transnational, parties that are endowed with resources and the capacity to intervene that surpass those of many Governments. Technological power thus takes on an unprecedented, predominantly private aspect, which makes it even more challenging to discern, govern and direct such power toward the common good.”
The encyclical called for:
Government regulation of private AI developers
Protection and retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened by AI
Education to help students think critically about the technology
Protections to shield children from AI-generated violent, sexualized, or fake information
Human-in-the-loop safeguards to ensure that humans remain responsible for all decisions regarding the use of weapons
The pope addressed the importance of work for both individuals and society.
“A society that guarantees employment to only a small fraction of the population, despite having a high level of technical development, risks exposing many to forced inactivity,” he wrote.
