Pope Leo to Launch Encyclical on AI and Human Dignity with Anthropic Co-founder

Pope Leo and the co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic will launch the pontiff’s first encyclical on May 25, a document on the care of human dignity in the era of AI, the Vatican said on Monday.

An encyclical is an official letter from the pope to Roman Catholic bishops, usually to make a statement on official teachings.

The presence of Anthropic’s Christopher Olah at the Vatican is significant, and suggests that the US pope’s position on AI will become a new flashpoint with the Trump administration.

In February, the Trump administration ordered all US agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI technology and imposed other major penalties for refusing to allow the US military unrestricted use of its AI technology.

Anthropic is currently suing the administration, which it has accused of retaliating against it illegally because of its attempt to impose limits on how its AI technology can be deployed.

Leo, who has made AI a priority of his young pontificate, is greatly concerned about AI in warfare and has called for monitoring of how the technology is used.