AI became the subject of a sharp disagreement between Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump after the pope rejected the idea that warnings about runaway technology amount to “fake news.” Speaking to reporters aboard his plane Monday, Leo urged governments and technology leaders to confront the risks instead of brushing them aside.
Pope Leo XIV said warnings about rogue AI should be taken seriously after Donald Trump called such concerns a “hoax”
Pope Leo comments came during a press conference as he returned from a four-day visit to France. Asked what the United States and China should do about potential catastrophic AI risks, he called for an open discussion. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen,” he said. He later added that AI specialists had raised concerns that “should be taken seriously” (via Associated Press).
Trump has taken a different approach, backing rapid American development so the U.S. can stay ahead of China. He has previously dismissed warnings about AI going rogue as a “hoax” and described attempts to impose limits as part of a political “conspiracy.” Trump also had dinner Sunday with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, whose company has pushed for more time to develop safety measures.
Leo has made AI a central issue of his papacy. His first encyclical, “Magnificent Humanity,” called for stronger regulation and slower development, while a Vatican initiative seeks dialogue among political leaders, AI companies and social organizations. He also pointed to Nvidia’s reported work on AI guardrails during Monday’s discussion.
AI’s rapid evolution has also pushed the Vatican’s concerns into much bigger territory. Amodei has cautioned that increasingly capable systems could eventually command swarms of AI agents with the power to take control across the internet.
Leo said the Vatican commission is focused on making sure the technology never reaches a stage where it could “destroy humanity or remove humanity from the conversation.” Still, he struck a measured note of hope, saying he was “relatively optimistic” that practical answers could be found.
