'Humanity Will Achieve Great Things': Anthropic Co-Founder Backs Pope Leo XIV's New AI Oversight Encyclical

Pope Leo XIV recently grabbed the headlines by releasing his first encyclical. He stepped into a crowded auditorium to personally present a major new document on artificial intelligence (AI).

Sitting right beside him was an unexpected guest -- Christopher Olah, the 33-year-old co-founder of the AI company Anthropic.

Together, the head of the Catholic Church and the tech leader called for a strong partnership between religion and Silicon Valley.

They urged for the creation of rules and safeguards to protect humanity as AI grows at a dangerous pace, according to a report by National Catholic Reporter.

Olah explained that tech creators need an outside perspective.

He said, "It is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives... to be our earnest, thoughtful, critics. It is through dialogue and mutual effort, through the push and pull, that humanity will achieve great things. That is what I see in Magnifica Humanitas, and it is why I am grateful to his holiness and to the church for taking up this work of discernment."

Leo XIV expressed his agreement with the young tech leader.

He thanked Olah directly and called their teamwork a major step forward, saying, "The church wishes, with humility and frankness, to be part of conversations on artificial intelligence. We do not possess technical answers, nor do we seek to displace those with expertise, but we bring a wisdom concerning the human that our present time desperately needs: every person is unique and irreplaceable, a free and intelligent subject with a conscience, capable of seeking G-d, serving one another, caring for our common home."

The pope further added, "What a great sign of hope that, with our differences, we can listen to one another. This interchange clearly bespeaks the gravity of the moment, as well as confidence that together we can discern the major questions of our time, and so the future of humanity."

Magnifica Humanitas is the first official letter, or encyclical, written by Leo XIV. Its Latin title translates to "Magnificent Humanity."

The Pillar reported that the whole document talks about keeping dignity safe in a time when AI is developing at a rapid pace.

The pope said that technology is not something that takes sides.

He warned that the world has to make a choice between building a system that only cares about itself or building a community that cares about people.

The document talks about the risks of using AI in wars. For example, it talks about weapons that can work on their own and that people cannot control easily.

Magnifica Humanitas wants to solve the problem of biased algorithms that stop people from getting healthcare, a job or being safe. The pope wants to make sure that AI is used in a way that helps people.

According to Leo XIV, the tech industry cannot police itself as the financial rewards are too large. As a result, he urged all of the world's major religions to stand together.

He urged leaders of different faiths to push tech companies and world governments for stricter and ethical AI rules.

"I ask you to show the world that we are united in asking for a proactive commitment to protect human dignity in this new era of machines," the pope said in a message to attendees of a conference on AI ethics featuring representatives from 11 global faiths.

A senior Vatican source highlighted why the pope is acting so fast to build this global network.

Senior Vatican official Fr. Brendan McGuire explained the importance of the text, stating, "What they have asked for is partnership, and it would be morally reprehensible for us to not partner with them. This technology is developing, and if we want to influence it, we need to do so now. That's what the pope is saying in this document: the fierce urgency of this present moment is really now."