TL;DR
Pope Leo XIV released Magnifica humanitas on May 25, 2026, framing artificial intelligence as a defining test for Catholic social teaching. The document warns that technology is never neutral and raises concerns about concentrated power, work, surveillance and war, while its Vatican launch drew attention because Anthropic was represented and OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were absent.
Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, on May 25, 2026, casting artificial intelligence as a major test for Catholic social teaching and warning that technology is shaped by those who build, fund, regulate and use it.
The encyclical was signed May 15, the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 labor encyclical Rerum novarum. The date and Leo XIV’s chosen papal name link the new document to the Church’s earlier response to industrial capitalism.
According to the source material, Leo XIV presented the document personally at the Vatican, an unusual choice for an encyclical launch. Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah was among the AI experts in the room. OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were not represented, according to the same account.
The five-chapter text argues that AI cannot be judged only by technical performance or claimed social benefit. It focuses on concentration of power, human dignity, work, visibility and warfare, with the strongest language aimed at systems that could reduce human control over decisions involving violence.
Technology is never neutral — and neither were the empty chairs
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical casts AI as this century’s Rerum novarum moment. He presented it personally — with Anthropic’s co-founder in the room. OpenAI, Google DeepMind & xAI were not. For a “broadside against AI companies,” that guest list is itself an argument.
A Rerum novarum for the age of AI
The signing date wasn’t incidental. Leo XIV chose the 135th anniversary of Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical — and, by taking the Leonine name, cast himself as the pope who answers AI as Leo XIII answered industry.
The same move, 135 years apart
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Five chapters, one worry: concentration
The recurring anxiety is that AI’s power lands “in the hands of only a few” — and that a more moral AI isn’t enough “if that morality is determined by a few.”
A dynamic doctrine, faithful to the Gospel
Situating AI in the Church’s social teaching — the living tradition from Rerum novarum onward.
Foundations & principles
Human dignity that is “neither acquired nor earned”; the common good; the universal destination of goods — tech must not be held by a few.
Technology & dominance
The “technocratic paradigm.” AI can simulate a person but has no moral conscience or empathy. Calls to “disarm” AI from the logic of competition.
Safeguarding humanity: truth, work, freedom
The “new ways” of working aren’t always better; AI too often makes workers adapt to machines. Warns of an “architecture of visibility.”
The culture of power & the civilization of love
The hardest charge: “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable.” Argues even “just war” theory must now be overcome.
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Who was in the room — and who should have been
Leo XIV presented the encyclical personally (popes usually delegate). Among the AI experts: Anthropic’s Chris Olah. The other frontier labs? Empty chairs. Tap each seat.
The presentation · May 25, 2026
A defensible single invite — or a diluted broadside? Press play, then judge.
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A broadside delivered to one delegate
The Washington Post read the encyclical as one that “fires a broadside against AI companies.” A reckoning aimed at an industry is weakened when one member — the most safety-branded one — is present to receive it.
The encyclical’s hardest charge is about AI and war — and it implicates the labs that weren’t there.
Its most uncompromising passages condemn AI-enabled weapons and the lowering of the threshold for violence. But that lands hardest on the defense-entangled players and the leaders most explicit about military & geopolitical ambitions — not the lab that showed up.
Account vs. anoint
One sympathetic guest tilts it from “the Church holding the industry to account” toward “the Church beside its preferred firm.”
Concentration, again
A text whose deepest fear is power “determined by a few” launched by elevating one company as chosen interlocutor.
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Two things are true at once
The criticism is of the exclusivity, not the inclusion. Olah in the room was fitting; Anthropic alone was incomplete.
The most significant AI reckoning yet by a global moral institution
It grounds a critique of concentration, dehumanized work & algorithmic warfare in a tradition stretching back to 1891. Its core insight — technology carries its makers’ values — is exactly the right place to start.
A broadside should be delivered to the industry, not its most palatable face
The choice to present alongside Anthropic alone — defensible, probably well-intentioned — undercut the encyclical’s own insight about whose values get associated with the message.
A beginning, not an endpoint
The same month, Leo XIV approved an Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence — a standing body with room for many voices over time. If it brings the whole industry into uncomfortable dialogue, the narrow first launch reads as a first step, not a pattern.
Why It Matters
The encyclical matters because it places AI at the center of modern Catholic social teaching, treating it as a social and moral force comparable to industrialization in the late 19th century. Its central claim is that technology reflects the values and incentives of the people and institutions behind it.
The guest list at the presentation has become part of the story. If the Church’s argument is that technology takes on the character of its makers, then the choice to have Anthropic represented while other major frontier labs were absent carries symbolic weight. The source article argues that the criticism is not that Anthropic was present, but that one lab’s presence left the launch less representative of the industry the document addresses.
Background
Rerum novarum, issued in 1891, addressed labor, capital and human dignity during the Industrial Revolution. Magnifica humanitas uses that lineage to frame AI as a new social rupture, with questions about ownership, control, work and war.
The document’s concern is not limited to whether AI systems are useful or harmful in isolated cases. It raises a broader warning that moral rules for AI could themselves be controlled by a small set of companies, funders or regulators.
“Technology is “never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it.””
— Magnifica humanitas
“Human dignity is “neither acquired nor earned.””
— Magnifica humanitas
“No algorithm can make war morally acceptable.”
— Magnifica humanitas
What Remains Unclear
It is not clear from the supplied material whether OpenAI, Google DeepMind or xAI were invited and declined, were not invited, or were absent for other reasons. It is also not clear how the Vatican plans to engage with AI companies after the encyclical’s release.
What’s Next
The next question is whether the Vatican follows the encyclical with meetings, policy proposals or formal dialogue involving a wider set of AI labs, regulators, labor groups and defense experts. The response from major AI companies will also show whether the document becomes a reference point in industry ethics debates or remains chiefly a Church statement.
Key Questions
What did Pope Leo XIV release?
He released Magnifica humanitas, his first encyclical, on May 25, 2026. The document applies Catholic social teaching to artificial intelligence.
Why is the encyclical being compared to Rerum novarum?
It was signed on May 15, 2026, the 135th anniversary of Rerum novarum, Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical on labor and industrial society. The comparison frames AI as a similar social turning point.
Which AI company was represented at the Vatican presentation?
Anthropic was represented by co-founder Chris Olah, according to the source material. The same account says OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were not present.
What is the main warning in the document?
The encyclical warns that technology is not neutral and that AI power may become concentrated among a small number of companies, funders and regulators.
What remains unknown?
The supplied material does not confirm whether absent AI labs were invited, why they were not represented, or what formal steps the Vatican may take next.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
