TL;DR
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, frames artificial intelligence as a defining social challenge for the Church, warning that technology reflects those who build, fund, govern and use it. Its May 25 Vatican presentation also drew scrutiny because Anthropic’s Chris Olah was present while OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were not, according to the source material.
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, released May 25, 2026, warns that artificial intelligence is “never neutral” and links the technology to questions of human dignity, labor, concentrated power and war, while the Vatican presentation drew attention because Anthropic’s Chris Olah was present and other major AI labs were not, according to the source material.
The encyclical was signed May 15, 2026, the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum, the 1891 text that addressed labor, capital and industrial upheaval. By choosing that date and the name Leo, the new pope placed AI in a direct line with earlier Catholic social teaching on technology, work and power.
The document is described as five chapters long and centered on a warning that AI power may fall “in the hands of only a few.” It argues that human dignity is “neither acquired nor earned,” that technology must serve the common good, and that a system shaped by a small group cannot be treated as morally settled simply because it is called ethical by its builders.
At the Vatican presentation, Leo XIV appeared in person, which the source material says popes usually do not do for such presentations. The listed participants included Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, along with Church figures including Rowlands, Cardinal Fernández, Cardinal Czerny and Lushombo. OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were described as absent.
Technology is never neutral — and neither were the empty chairs
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical casts AI as this century’s Rerum novarum moment. He presented it personally — with Anthropic’s co-founder in the room. OpenAI, Google DeepMind & xAI were not. For a “broadside against AI companies,” that guest list is itself an argument.
A Rerum novarum for the age of AI
The signing date wasn’t incidental. Leo XIV chose the 135th anniversary of Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical — and, by taking the Leonine name, cast himself as the pope who answers AI as Leo XIII answered industry.
The same move, 135 years apart
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Five chapters, one worry: concentration
The recurring anxiety is that AI’s power lands “in the hands of only a few” — and that a more moral AI isn’t enough “if that morality is determined by a few.”
A dynamic doctrine, faithful to the Gospel
Situating AI in the Church’s social teaching — the living tradition from Rerum novarum onward.
Foundations & principles
Human dignity that is “neither acquired nor earned”; the common good; the universal destination of goods — tech must not be held by a few.
Technology & dominance
The “technocratic paradigm.” AI can simulate a person but has no moral conscience or empathy. Calls to “disarm” AI from the logic of competition.
Safeguarding humanity: truth, work, freedom
The “new ways” of working aren’t always better; AI too often makes workers adapt to machines. Warns of an “architecture of visibility.”
The culture of power & the civilization of love
The hardest charge: “no algorithm can make war morally acceptable.” Argues even “just war” theory must now be overcome.
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Who was in the room — and who should have been
Leo XIV presented the encyclical personally (popes usually delegate). Among the AI experts: Anthropic’s Chris Olah. The other frontier labs? Empty chairs. Tap each seat.
The presentation · May 25, 2026
A defensible single invite — or a diluted broadside? Press play, then judge.
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A broadside delivered to one delegate
The Washington Post read the encyclical as one that “fires a broadside against AI companies.” A reckoning aimed at an industry is weakened when one member — the most safety-branded one — is present to receive it.
The encyclical’s hardest charge is about AI and war — and it implicates the labs that weren’t there.
Its most uncompromising passages condemn AI-enabled weapons and the lowering of the threshold for violence. But that lands hardest on the defense-entangled players and the leaders most explicit about military & geopolitical ambitions — not the lab that showed up.
Account vs. anoint
One sympathetic guest tilts it from “the Church holding the industry to account” toward “the Church beside its preferred firm.”
Concentration, again
A text whose deepest fear is power “determined by a few” launched by elevating one company as chosen interlocutor.
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Two things are true at once
The criticism is of the exclusivity, not the inclusion. Olah in the room was fitting; Anthropic alone was incomplete.
The most significant AI reckoning yet by a global moral institution
It grounds a critique of concentration, dehumanized work & algorithmic warfare in a tradition stretching back to 1891. Its core insight — technology carries its makers’ values — is exactly the right place to start.
A broadside should be delivered to the industry, not its most palatable face
The choice to present alongside Anthropic alone — defensible, probably well-intentioned — undercut the encyclical’s own insight about whose values get associated with the message.
A beginning, not an endpoint
The same month, Leo XIV approved an Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence — a standing body with room for many voices over time. If it brings the whole industry into uncomfortable dialogue, the narrow first launch reads as a first step, not a pattern.
Why It Matters
The encyclical matters because it places AI inside one of the Catholic Church’s highest teaching formats and treats the technology as a social and moral force, not only a technical tool. Its central claim is that AI systems reflect the incentives, values and power structures of the people and institutions behind them.
The launch also matters because the guest list became part of the message. If the document argues that technology takes on the character of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it, then the choice of which AI builders were present at its release carries public meaning. The source material frames Anthropic’s presence as fitting but incomplete, because a critique aimed at concentrated AI power is weaker if only one frontier lab is represented.
Background
Magnifica humanitas is presented as a modern counterpart to Rerum novarum. Where Leo XIII addressed factories, labor and capital in 1891, Leo XIV addresses AI, automated work, surveillance-like systems, concentrated corporate power and algorithmic warfare in 2026.
The document’s strongest language, according to the source material, concerns war and AI-enabled weapons. It argues that algorithmic systems may lower the threshold for violence and says that even traditional just war thinking must now be reconsidered.
“Technology is “never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it.””
— Pope Leo XIV, in Magnifica humanitas
What Remains Unclear
It is not yet clear why OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were not represented at the Vatican presentation, whether they were invited, or whether their absence reflected scheduling, Vatican choice, company choice or another reason. The source material also does not establish whether Anthropic’s presence indicates Vatican preference, a practical invitation decision or a broader engagement strategy.
What’s Next
The next test is whether the Vatican broadens its AI engagement beyond Anthropic and whether major labs, regulators and Catholic institutions respond to the encyclical’s claims about concentrated power, labor, surveillance and weapons. Future statements from the Vatican or the absent companies could clarify whether the May 25 presentation was a one-time event or the start of a wider Church dialogue with AI firms.
Key Questions
What happened?
Pope Leo XIV released and personally presented Magnifica humanitas, his first encyclical, on May 25, 2026. The text warns that AI is not neutral and raises concerns about power, labor, truth, freedom and war.
Why did Anthropic’s presence matter?
Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah was listed among the AI experts present. Because the encyclical argues that technology reflects its makers and funders, the presence of one major AI lab and absence of others became part of how the launch was read.
Were OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI confirmed absent?
The source material states that OpenAI, Google DeepMind and xAI were not present at the Vatican event. It does not confirm why they were absent or whether they were invited.
What is the encyclical’s main argument about AI?
Its main argument is that AI must be judged by the human, institutional and financial forces that shape it. The document warns against control by a small number of actors and says AI cannot replace moral conscience, empathy or human responsibility.
What happens next?
The focus now shifts to responses from the Vatican, AI companies, regulators and Catholic institutions. Any broader consultation with other AI labs would help show how the Church plans to act on the encyclical’s warning about concentrated power.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
