Pope Leo XIV warns AI risks becoming tool of economic colonialism

August 26, 2026 at 01:08 AM2 min

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Pope Leo XIV warned on Friday that artificial intelligence risks becoming a new form of economic colonialism, deepening the gap between wealthy and poor nations. He told the International Catholic Legislators Network that algorithms already create a subtle form of domination over who is seen and heard. The pope called for robust legal frameworks and independent oversight to prevent AI from eroding human dignity and family life.

Key Facts

Pope Leo XIV addressed the International Catholic Legislators Network on Friday, warning that AI risks becoming a new form of economic colonialism.
The pope said algorithms already create a subtle form of domination over who is seen and who remains invisible on digital platforms.
Leo called for robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users, and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility regarding AI.
The pope warned that AI must never be allowed to erode the family, citing its role in reducing persons and relationships to data and simulations.
Christopher Hale, founder of the newsletter Letters from Leo, said Friday's remarks were a redelivery of ideas from the pope's May encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas'.

AI as Economic Colonialism

Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence risks becoming a new form of economic colonialism, deepening the gap between wealthy and poor nations. He told the International Catholic Legislators Network that AI's rapid development risks leaving poorer countries increasingly dependent on wealthier ones for the technology. The pope described a subtle form of domination when algorithms decide who is seen and who remains invisible, and when digital platforms shape public discourse without accountability. Such developments, he said, reveal a new face of the ancient temptation to domination and mastery without service.

Call for Regulation

Leo called for robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users, and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility. He said no single ideology or interest should dictate the values embedded in artificial intelligence systems. The pope's call for a responsible political system echoes language he has used before in tension with the Trump administration's deregulatory approach to AI. President Donald Trump has pushed to loosen federal AI rules and repealed the Biden administration's AI executive order in January 2025.

Impact on Family Life

The pope said AI and technology at large decrease the interactions and relationships people have with one another. This is causing marriage and birth rates to decrease as the ages people reach these milestones increase, if at all. AI, the pope warned, must never be allowed to erode the family, and it does so by reducing persons and relationships to data and simulations. He also cited flooding young minds with content that distorts desire and economic models that make family life economically precarious.