Pope Leo XIV is bringing artificial intelligence into the heart of the Vatican as he prepares to launch his first encyclical next week with the participation of a leading AI researcher from Anthropic.
According to Bloomberg, Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah will join Vatican officials during the 25 May presentation of “Magnifica Humanitas,” the pope’s first encyclical expected to focus on humanity’s place in the age of AI.
The Vatican said the launch will also feature speeches from Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, two of the Church’s highest-ranking officials.
Bloomberg reported that the document is expected to outline Pope Leo’s views on protecting human dignity and ethics as artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes industries, labor, and society.
Pope Leo, the first American pope, has repeatedly identified AI as a defining issue of his pontificate, often drawing comparisons between today’s technological revolution and the industrial upheaval faced by Pope Leo XIII, whose landmark encyclical “Rerum Novarum” addressed workers’ rights during the first industrial revolution.
Olah, who leads Anthropic’s AI interpretability research, is known for studying how advanced AI systems think and make decisions internally — a central concern in global debates over AI safety and regulation.
