Pope Leo XIV warns AI could undermine humanity during France visit

Thousands gather in Paris as the pope warns against a ‘paradise of machines’ at the Elysee Palace.

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd as he leaves at the end of a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, on September 25, 2026 [AFP]

Pope Leo XIV has warned that artificial intelligence, which he referred to as a “paradise of machines”, and other emerging technologies could undermine humanity by posing fundamental questions about what it means to be human.

Thousands gathered to welcome the pope in France on Friday, shortly after he raised existential questions about technological advancement and human rights during his opening speech to President Emmanuel Macron and authorities at the Elysee Palace and then to diplomats and United Nations employees at the headquarters of UNESCO, the UN culture and education organisation.

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“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment,” Pope Leo said beside Macron.

Scientific progress should not turn “into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one’s own death”, the pope said, a few months after France passed a landmark bill legalising assisted dying.

Pope Leo XIV visits the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, on September 25, 2026 [Gregorio Borgia/Pool/EPA]

He reaffirmed the Vatican’s opposition to nuclear weapons, stating that the nuclear deterrence doctrine was “mistaken” as it was heightening a new arms race.

The pope identified AI as one of the greatest challenges currently facing humanity since the very beginning of his pontificate, dedicating his first encyclical to the topic to call for significant regulation and for developers to work for the common good.

“The paradox has become increasingly evident: while ‘intelligence’ is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognise the inalienable dignity of human persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, are rejected and discarded,” he said.

The pope had earlier told reporters that he was pleased that his message was being heard by AI developers and hoped the dialogue would continue between tech companies and the Vatican.

“And I think from their perspective, many of them, they’re very much open to looking for ways of making sure that AI does not displace or ultimately destroy humanity, but rather is a tool for human beings,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV greets worshippers from the Papamobile (popemobile) at the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, on September 25, 2026 [AFP]

The pope’s four-day trip marks the first official papal visit to France in 18 years. While secularism is enshrined in the country’s constitution, the pontiff stressed that “authentic secularity” should not exclude religion “from the public sphere or from education”.

Thousands of worshippers cheered Leo on Friday as he stepped up to pray and called those gathered at a stadium near Paris the “saints of France”. Earlier in the afternoon, the pope crossed central Paris in his popemobile.

The Vatican estimated that about 300,000 people had come out to see the pontiff on Friday.

数千人聚集在巴黎爱丽舍宫，聆听教皇警告人们警惕“机器的天堂”。

2026年9月25日，教宗良十四世在巴黎郊外圣丹尼斯的法兰西体育场与年轻人一起参加祈祷守夜活动后离开，并向人群挥手致意。[法新社]

教宗利奥十四世曾警告说，人工智能（他称之为“机器的天堂”）和其他新兴技术可能会对人类的本质提出根本性问题，从而破坏人类。

周五，数千人聚集在法国欢迎教皇。此前不久，教皇在爱丽舍宫向法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙和政府官员发表了开幕致辞，随后又在联合国教科文组织总部向外交官和联合国工作人员发表了讲话。他在讲话中提出了有关技术进步和人权的根本性问题。

教宗利奥十世在安乐死和虐待丑闻引发争议之际访问法国（共4条，此为第1条）

教宗良十三世呼吁世界“帮助开始”加沙重建（共四条，此为第二条）

教宗利奥十世和马姆达尼就美国建国250周年发表支持移民的声明（共4条，此为第3条）。

教宗利奥十四世将于11月访问秘鲁、阿根廷和乌拉圭（共4项，此为第4项）

“如果我们想要避免在机器入侵和控制我们日常生活的天堂中失去人性，就迫切需要进行道德辨别力方面的教育，”教皇利奥三世在马克龙旁边说道。

教皇表示，科学进步不应“演变成以盈利为目的的、推广基因改造、代孕、人体器官交易或安排自己死亡的事业”。几个月前，法国通过了一项具有里程碑意义的法案，使安乐死合法化。

2026年9月25日，教宗利奥十四世访问了位于法国巴黎的联合国教科文组织总部。[格雷戈里奥·博尔吉亚/Pool/EPA]

他重申了梵蒂冈反对核武器的立场，并表示核威慑理论是“错误的”，因为它加剧了新的军备竞赛。

教宗自就任教宗之初就将人工智能视为当前人类面临的最大挑战之一，并在他的第一篇通谕中专门论述了这一主题，呼吁对其进行严格监管，并要求开发者为公共利益而努力。

“这种悖论变得越来越明显：虽然人们将‘智能’赋予了计算机系统，但我们却难以承认人类不可剥夺的尊严，他们的生活根据效率的标准来评判，一旦被认为不再具有生产力，就会被抛弃和丢弃，”他说。

教皇早前告诉记者，他很高兴人工智能开发者们听到了他的信息，并希望科技公司和梵蒂冈之间的对话能够继续下去。

他说：“我认为从他们的角度来看，他们中的许多人都非常愿意寻找各种方法，以确保人工智能不会取代人类或最终毁灭人类，而是成为人类的工具。”

2026年9月25日，教宗利奥十四世在巴黎郊外的圣丹尼斯法兰西体育场乘坐教宗座驾向信徒们致意。[法新社]

教宗此次为期四天的访问是18年来教宗首次正式访问法国。虽然世俗主义已写入法国宪法，但教宗强调，“真正的世俗主义”不应将宗教“排除在公共领域或教育之外”。

周五，教宗利奥三世走上讲台祈祷，并称聚集在巴黎附近一座体育场的信众为“法国的圣徒”，数千名信徒为他欢呼喝彩。当天下午早些时候，教宗乘坐教宗座驾穿过巴黎市中心。

梵蒂冈估计，周五约有 30 万人前来瞻仰教宗。