Pope Leo Creates Vatican AI Commission to Study Impact

Pope Leo has established the Inter-Dicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence to examine how AI technologies affect people and society, the Vatican announced. The initiative responds to the rapid spread of automated systems and generative tools.

The commission includes representatives from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Communication, and the Pontifical Academies for Life, Sciences and Social Sciences. Coordination will be handled by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the first year and will rotate annually among the participating offices.

The body will study ethical, social and cultural questions linked to AI, with a focus on how automated systems shape communication, creativity and public life. The Vatican said the commission is intended to advise bishops and church leaders on moral issues and to inform policy and pastoral responses rather than to set technical standards.

In a World Communications Day message earlier this year, Pope Leo wrote that algorithms designed to maximize engagement “reduce people’s ability to listen and think critically, increasing social polarization.” He warned that choosing to rely on “artificial statistical compilations” can weaken cognitive, emotional and communication skills.

The pope also raised concerns about creative industries, saying that growing use of AI in producing texts, music and videos risks human creative work being “dismantled and replaced with the label ‘Powered by AI,’ turning people into passive consumers of unthought thoughts and anonymous products without ownership or love.”

Pope Leo urged online platforms not to base business strategies solely on profit and called on developers of AI models to practice transparency and social responsibility. He asked national legislators and international regulators to adopt rules that protect human dignity and invited participation from the tech industry, creative companies, academia, artists, journalists and educators in building informed digital citizenship.

The Vatican said the new commission will provide a coordinated forum for discussing AI-related moral questions and for supporting bishops with guidance. Officials also indicated the pope is expected to publish an encyclical in the coming days that will address ethical matters and reiterate concerns about the cultural and moral effects of artificial intelligence.