Subtle Dig at Trump? Pope Leo XIV Calls for Strict AI Regulation in First Encyclical

The ongoing rift between Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump has taken a new turn, with the pontiff taking a cheeky jab at the president.

The pope has recently issued his first encyclical about human beings in the era of artificial intelligence.

In the document, he talked about AI’s ability to manipulate content, using fake images and videos. He also dedicated a page to criticizing the privilege of giving data to a small number of private figures in the AI development industry.

According to Vatican News, Leo XIV issued his first encyclical, titled Magnifica Humanitas, which deals with AI being the greatest challenge faced by humanity.

In the manifesto, he condemned the “culture of power” fueling the AI race, which creates advanced methods of remote warfare.

He criticized the act, stating it was “not permissible” to delegate lethal decisions to AI systems.

The comments were interpreted by many as a swipe at Trump, which comes weeks after the president shared AI-generated imagery of himself on social media, including a viral graphic depicting an embrace with Jesus Christ.

However, Trump had previously defended his use of AI and tech platforms, shrugging off media scrutiny regarding his digital branding.

In the encyclical, Leo XIV repeatedly condemned the concentration of “power and data” in the hands of a limited number of people in the private sector, which he warned could leave children and society vulnerable.

“It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required. A more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few,” he wrote.

He urged AI developers and political leaders to pause and consider the consequences of their actions. Furthermore, he called for the application of ethical and spiritual principles, choosing to work for the greater good of humanity.

Paolo Carozza, a law professor at Notre Dame Law School and co-chair of the Meta Oversight Board, praised the text's depth.

“I am convinced that this will prove to be a defining document for our era, a profound and prophetic document,” Carozza said, according to The Irish Star.

Carozza stated that the pope is providing a “clear, comprehensive, and coherent” narrative that urges society to take responsibility where technology will serve humans and not the other way around.

Moreover, the pope also criticized AI for accelerating the normalization of war by dulling people’s awareness of its true human cost.

In the encyclical, he referenced the friction between “opposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy.”

Nevertheless, he said he believed that AI is causing “existential anxieties and utopian expectations,” diminishing human intelligence while threatening to eliminate millions of positions.