Why Pope Leo’s slavery apology belongs in his AI warning

It may seem strange that Pope Leo XIV apologized for the church’s role in slavery within his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), in which he said artificial intelligence is dangerous and must be disarmed. “It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord,” he wrote in the letter to the church that was made public Monday. “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”

This Video Is Trending Right Now →

But Leo addressing slavery and this emergent technology in the same document is not strange at all. The encyclical in its entirety addresses the question of humanity: who can be regarded as human, and the problem with AI using human labor, experiences and cultures to empower machines to replace humans. It was important to the pope to acknowledge the failure of the church to see the humanity of enslaved persons. The church was perfectly fine with saving souls while allowing institutions and governments to enslave other people, especially Africans. It was even fine with the enslavement of those who converted.

In the present day, Leo argues that AI is helping to create a new form of colonialism that appropriates data and transforms personal lives into exploitable information. Moreover, he says in the encyclical that “new forms of slavery are fueled by economic chains and digital infrastructures.” Leo calling AI one of the “new forms of enslavement” would have rung hollow, if not hypocritical, had he not acknowledged the church’s complicity in slavery.

He argues that “if technology becomes the ultimate criterion, the human person risks being reduced to data, a cog in a machine or a commodity. If, however, technology is integrated with a wise perspective, it can become an instrument of growth, justice and fraternity.”

It is a sign of the threat Leo believes AI poses to humanity that he personally announced his own encyclical. Generally, cardinals and other church officials announce and hold a news conference announcing key points of the letter to the public. But on this occasion, the pope convened a panel of theologians and the co-founder of Anthropic, Christopher Olah, who was seated next to Leo. Together, the panel introduced the encyclical, with final comments by Leo, during which they made the particularly strong point that AI must be disarmed.

The pope said the core of the document is a question: What happens to human beings considering the tasks and technologies AI is consuming and replacing?