Pope Leo XIV has issued a strong warning over the increasing deployment of artificial intelligence in military operations, saying the transfer of life-and-death decisions to machines undermines the moral foundations of civilisation.
The pontiff made the statement in his first World Peace Day message, released on Thursday, December 18, expressing deep concern about the expanding role of AI in modern warfare.
He said recent technological advances and the integration of artificial intelligence into military systems have intensified the devastation of armed conflict. According to him, political and military leaders are increasingly avoiding accountability by allowing machines to determine matters of life and death.
“This represents an unprecedented and destructive betrayal of the legal and philosophical principles of humanism that uphold and protect every civilisation,” the pope said.
Leo XIV, the Catholic Church’s first pope from the United States, was elected in May and has consistently advocated for the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence.
His remarks come amid the growing global use of AI-powered military technologies, including automated surveillance, cyber-defence systems, and weapons such as autonomous drones and missile defence platforms driven by predictive algorithms developments that have raised serious ethical and legal concerns.
In the same message, issued ahead of World Peace Day observed by the Catholic Church on January 1, the pope also criticised the manipulation of religion for political ends. He lamented what he described as the increasing tendency to use religious language to promote nationalism or to justify violence and armed conflict.
The 70 years old pontiff further condemned the reliance on military strength, particularly nuclear deterrence, calling it irrational and rooted in fear rather than justice. He argued that such approaches to international relations are based not on law, trust, and fairness, but on intimidation and domination by force.
