Pope Leo XIV on Friday issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence as a threat to human dignity, particularly for impressionable young people. 

The message was directed to participants of the annual conference on artificial intelligence and technology ethics in Rome.

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“No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI. But again, access to data – however extensive– must not be confused with intelligence,” Leo wrote.

Leo said he is concerned most for children and young people over the ways AI will affect their  “intellectual and neurological development.” He specifically highlighted the threat of generative AI and its effects on humans; “ability to grasp and process reality.”

Leo’s warning offered multiple citations to a longer document from his predecessor Pope Francis on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence. 

Both Francis and Leo have highlighted the Catholic principle that tools like AI are reflections of the humans who make them, who are also reflections of God.

“In the end, authentic wisdom has more to do with recognizing the true meaning of life, than with the availability of data,” Leo wrote.

Leo in his message called for the need to safeguard “the inviolable dignity of each human person and respecting the cultural and spiritual riches and diversity of the world’s peoples.”

“Ultimately, the benefits or risks of AI must be evaluated precisely according to this superior ethical criterion,” Leo added. 

AI has emerged as a major theme in the first few weeks of Leo’s papacy, with the threat to human dignity posed by the new technology being a central message of his first address to Catholic cardinals last month.

Commentators have also highlighted that his choice for his papal name harkens to Pope Leo XIII, who championed the cause of human dignity for workers during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. A Vatican spokesperson said at the time of his ordination that Leo’s choice of name was “not a casual reference.”

POPE LEO XIV REVEALS PAPAL NAME IS RESPONSE TO WORLD’S DIGITAL REVOLUTION, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

An AP-NORC Center poll from this week found that 65% of U.S. Catholics have a favorable view of the new American-borne pontiff. 

Of all U.S. adults, 44% have a favorable view, with 46% saying they do not know enough to have an opinion.