'Soulless machines...not to replace us’: Pope Leo XIV warns AI may harm young minds, blur reality
&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Soulless machines...not to replace us’: Pope Leo XIV warns AI may harm young minds, blur reality")
Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd after a Corpus Domini procession to St Mary Major basilica following a mass outside Saint John Lateran archbasilica in Rome, on June 22, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
Pope Leo voiced concern that AI, with its infinite scroll of pre-packaged answers and simulations, risks damaging young people's ability to perceive reality, to think, to create.
Pope Leo XIV has issued a stark message about the growing influence of artificial intelligence, especially on the minds of children and young people. On Friday (Jun 20), the newly elected head of the Catholic Church warned that AI could damage young people's grip on reality. In a written message to researchers and policymakers gathered at the Rome Conference on AI, the American-born pontiff, a trained mathematician noted that, "All of us... are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development."
A generation facing information overload
Pope Leo voiced concern that AI, with its infinite scroll of pre-packaged answers and simulations, risks damaging young people's ability to perceive reality, to think, to create.
"No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI," he said.
"But again, access to data – however extensive – must not be confused with intelligence," Leo told the annual conference.
'Soulless machines' and synthetic popes
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Since becoming pope on May 8, Leo has emerged as one of the world's most vocal critics of AI's unchecked rise — even as deepfake videos of him swirl across TikTok and YouTube, impersonating his voice and image.
The pontiff said that attention was needed to protect "healthy, fair and sound lifestyles, especially for the good of younger generations."
In another appearance on Saturday (Jun 21) Leo addressed 68 national delegations, including Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. There, he doubled down on his earlier message and stressed that AI must remain a tool for humans — not their replacement.
Noting that AI's "static memory" was of no match to the "creative, dynamic" power of human memory," he said "Our personal life has greater value than any algorithm, and social relationships require spaces for development that far transcend the limited patterns that any soulless machine can pre-package."