Pope Leo XIV Criticizes AI Models Focused On Efficiency And Profit

The Vatican enters the debate on artificial intelligence in turn. In his first encyclical devoted to AI, Pope Leo XIV denounces a technological model that threatens human employment in favor of profitability. With “Magnifica Humanitas”, the Catholic Church takes a stand on the social, economic, and political consequences of automation, as the global race for AI accelerates.

The Vatican attacks an AI dominated by the logic of profit

In “ Magnifica Humanitas”, Pope Leo XIV states that artificial intelligence must never become a force that distances humanity from its own nature. The text calls on political and economic leaders to remain “deeply human” in the face of the rapid rise of automated technologies.

The sovereign pontiff openly criticizes an industry guided by “efficiency, control, and profit”, accused of gradually eroding the place of human labor in the modern economy.

The encyclical highlights several key points :

• The rejection of the “sacrifice of human jobs” in favor of economic gains linked to AI ;
• The denunciation of a technological model focused on profitability and automation ;
• The defense of human labor as a fundamental element of dignity ;
• The call to preserve a “deeply human” society in the face of the expansion of intelligent systems.

The document also emphasizes the social and spiritual dimension of work, presented as much more than a mere production tool. The pope writes that “work is not simply an instrument of livelihood” but an essential element of participation in collective life. This stance comes as debates around job cuts related to automation gain ground in several economic sectors, from media to finance to software development.

Leo XIV also targets the growing power of tech giants

Beyond the issue of employment, the encyclical attacks the concentration of technological power in the hands of a few private companies. Leo XIV even compares the uncontrolled rise of artificial intelligence to a “new Tower of Babel”, a biblical reference used to illustrate the risks of a technological system escaping collective control. The text warns against technologies capable of increasing surveillance, informational manipulations, and global economic imbalances. The Vatican also calls for stricter international regulatory frameworks to limit military uses and commercial abuses of AI.

This offensive occurs in a context where states still struggle to govern the dominant actors in artificial intelligence. By targeting the centralization of digital power, the Vatican indirectly joins some criticisms already present in technological and economic spheres, notably around growing dependence on infrastructures held by a few American groups. The text mentions no company by name, but its message clearly targets economic models built around the massive exploitation of on-chain data and large-scale automation.

With this encyclical, the Vatican brings artificial intelligence into a new political and civilizational dimension. The debate no longer only concerns innovation or economic competitiveness, but the place of humans in a society driven by ever more powerful algorithms. It now remains to be seen if this call will find concrete resonance with governments and industry players, as the global race for AI continues to accelerate.