Pope Leo XIV Calls for Disarmament of AI and Ban on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
In a Vatican address, Pope Leo XIV urged UN member states to take concrete steps to ban lethal autonomous weapons, emphasizing human oversight over AI.
Pope Leo XIV called for the "disarmament" of artificial intelligence systems in a Friday papal address, urging United Nations member states to take concrete steps toward banning lethal autonomous weapons at their upcoming meeting in Geneva next month.
"Machines are tools, not persons," Pope Leo said, warning against granting AI systems rights or legal personhood. He emphasized that humans "have the responsibility to guide, change and, when necessary, reject its applications," stating that decisions affecting human life, freedom, and the use of force must remain subject to effective, informed, and responsible human oversight.
This stance aligns with his first major papal document released in May, which highlighted "safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence." It also echoes previous calls by former Pope Francis in 2024, who similarly advocated for a ban on autonomous weapons, asserting that no machine should ever choose to take a human life.