Pope Leo XIV Warns AI Could Harm Spiritual and Intellectual Development
Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the creativity behind artificial intelligence but warned it could negatively affect people's intellectual, neurological, and spiritual development. His comments came as tech companies increasingly develop AI tools aimed at religious and spiritual guidance.
Pope Leo XIV has issued a warning about artificial intelligence, saying the technology could harm people's intellectual, neurological, and spiritual development, even as he acknowledged the human creativity behind it.
His comments came as a wave of AI-powered religious tools has entered the market. Companies have launched products including AI-generated Jesus avatars, a Buddhist priest robot, and a Catholic chatbot trained on 2,000 years of church teaching.
One company, Just Like Me, offers video calls with an AI-generated avatar of Jesus for $1.99 per minute. Its CEO said the model was trained on the King James Bible and sermons, with visual inspiration from actor Jonathan Roumie of "The Chosen."
Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, separately consulted Christian leaders for advice on the moral character of its AI. Questions raised in those discussions included whether AI could be considered a moral agent.
Christian software engineer Cameron Pak, who developed criteria for faith-based apps, said AI "cannot pray for you, because the AI is not alive." He also said any faith-based AI must clearly identify itself as AI and must not misrepresent Scripture.
Anthropologist Beth Singler noted that some AI religious tools have been shut down due to misinformation or data privacy concerns.
The pope's warning adds a high-level voice to growing concern about AI's role in spiritual life. Peter Hershock of the Humane AI Initiative said AI's promise to reduce effort in spiritual pursuits could be dangerous, since "perfection of effort is crucial to Buddhist spirituality." Similar concerns apply across faith traditions.
