Pope Leo XIV Challenges AI Giants and Warns of Job Losses

Pope Leo XIV has thrown down the gauntlet with a 245-paragraph encyclical titled "Magnifica humanitas." Released on May 25, 2026, this letter addresses AI's sweeping influence on our society, from job markets to environmental impacts, and does it with a message for tech giants and developers alike.

Big Tech's Stranglehold

In his encyclical, Pope Leo is clear: AI's power shouldn't be hoarded by a few tech behemoths. The names might not be mentioned, but it's no secret who he's talking about. Companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon wield immense control over AI platforms and infrastructure. The pope warns that this concentration of power can lead to manipulation, exclusion, and inequality. "When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few," he writes, "it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight." It's a call to disarm AI from monopolistic control, advocating for a tech landscape that's open to discussion and debate. But who benefits from the current setup? Certainly not the average person.

AI Developers: The Ethical Call

Pope Leo's message isn't just for CEOs. He's got a significant appeal for AI developers, urging them to embed transparency and responsibility into their systems. "Every design choice reflects a vision of humanity," he reminds them. AI systems often carry the biases of their creators, and it's developers who have the ethical and spiritual responsibility to address that. The real question here's, will developers rise to the occasion, or will they follow the path of least resistance?

The Threat of AI-Induced Unemployment

Job losses due to AI are a ticking time bomb, according to Pope Leo. He warns that mass unemployment could become a "true social calamity." This isn't just a moral concern but an economic one too. While some argue that AI can upskill workers, the pope stresses that the pursuit of profits shouldn't justify job cuts. He pushes for measures to protect employment and advocate for retraining, urging, "Every introduction of automation and AI should be accompanied by verifiable measures to protect the employment." Whose data? Whose labor? Whose benefit? The benchmark doesn't capture what matters most.

In a world where AI has the potential to either liberate or enslave, Pope Leo's encyclical is a important intervention. It's not just a religious message but a social call to action. Ask who funded the study, indeed, but more importantly, who will act on its warnings?