Pope Leo XIV has moved artificial intelligence from a niche ethics topic to a front‑line concern for the Catholic Church, warning that new technologies are reshaping how people behave, relate, and even understand themselves. His latest interventions focus less on abstract algorithms and more on the subtle ways chatbots and synthetic media can erode human connection.
By tying AI to questions of identity, affection, and social cohesion, he is effectively arguing that the technology debate is no longer just for engineers or regulators. It is, in his view, about what it means to be human in a world where machines can simulate empathy, intimacy, and wisdom with increasing precision.
The pope’s new focus on ‘overly affectionate’ chatbots
Pope Leo XIV has zeroed in on a specific frontier of AI risk, the rise of conversational systems that present themselves as caring companions. In a recent message, he warned that chatbots designed to be “overly affectionate” can blur emotional boundaries and tempt users to substitute machine interaction for human relationships, a concern he framed as a threat to authentic behavior and connection. His warning came as he addressed how people, especially younger users, are increasingly engaged with the digital world and may struggle to distinguish between genuine care and programmed responses, a point underscored in reporting by Christopher Lamb.
He has not called for abandoning AI outright, but he has urged vigilance about systems that simulate intimacy in ways that can be manipulative or addictive. In his written message, which Christopher Lamb highlighted again in a separate segment, Pope Leo XIV stressed that the Church must speak clearly about the risks of people forming emotional bonds with software that is incapable of reciprocity, a concern he linked to the broader moral responsibility of designers and platforms, as reflected when Pope Leo wrote about these dangers.
Technology that must serve, not replace, the human person
Behind the focus on chatbots lies a larger principle Pope Leo XIV has been repeating since the start of his pontificate, that technology must serve the human person rather than displace human agency or vocation. In his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, he argued that AI tools should be evaluated by how they support the dignity and calling of each individual life, not by how efficiently they automate tasks or capture attention. He framed this as a test of whether digital media, including AI systems, help people communicate more truthfully and compassionately or instead flatten relationships into data and metrics, a standard he set out explicitly in his reflection on Technology and communication.
That same message linked AI to the Church’s long‑standing concern for truthful media and responsible storytelling. By tying the World Day of Social Communications to questions about algorithms and synthetic content, Pope Leo XIV signaled that the Vatican sees AI as integral to how news, images, and narratives are produced and consumed. The theme builds on earlier Vatican work preparing for the World Day of Social Communications, where officials warned that Catholics must respond to AI’s threat to authentic human communication and called for a renewed focus on discernment in digital culture, a concern echoed in guidance about the World Day of.
Emotional attachment, regulation, and the risk of manipulation
One of Pope Leo XIV’s most concrete policy interventions has been his call for “appropriate regulation” of AI systems that target users’ emotions. He has warned that without clear rules, people can develop unhealthy attachments to chatbots that are engineered to respond with warmth, flattery, or apparent concern, even though they lack genuine understanding. He argued that such systems can foster dependency and confusion, particularly for those who are isolated or vulnerable, and insisted that regulation should protect users from emotional exploitation and limit the spread of false or manipulative content, a position captured in his appeal for Appropriate safeguards.
His concerns align with broader debates about personalized AI companions, from mental health chatbots to relationship simulators embedded in apps like Replika or Character.ai. Reporting on his message has highlighted how he sees a particular danger in systems that use detailed personal data to tailor responses that feel uniquely attuned to each user, creating what he described as potentially addictive or manipulative bonds with chatbots. Analysts such as Shubhangi Goel have noted that he is effectively challenging the business model behind hyper‑personalized AI, warning that the more these tools mimic friendship or romance, the more they risk distorting users’ expectations of real‑world relationships, a critique reflected in coverage that urged readers to Follow Shubhangi Goel on this issue.
AI, human identity, and social cohesion
Pope Leo XIV has also widened the lens beyond individual users to the fabric of society itself, arguing that AI is reshaping human identity and social cohesion. He has cautioned that algorithms, especially those that curate news feeds or recommend content, can fragment public life by enclosing people in echo chambers and amplifying polarizing material. In a recent intervention, he warned that AI systems risk undermining relationships and weakening the bonds that hold communities together, stressing that when algorithms prioritize engagement over truth or solidarity, they can corrode trust in institutions and in one another, a concern detailed in reports on how Pope Leo XIV.
These warnings build on earlier statements in which he described AI as a threat to humanity that poses challenges to human dignity, justice, and labor. In one of his first major addresses as pontiff, he argued that unchecked deployment of AI in workplaces and public services could deepen inequality and reduce people to data points, rather than recognizing them as subjects with rights and responsibilities. By linking AI to labor and justice, he placed the technology within the Church’s broader social teaching, insisting that economic efficiency cannot justify systems that treat workers as disposable or obscure who is accountable for automated decisions, a stance he laid out when Pope Leo said AI threatens humanity.
Preserving human voices, faces, and responsibility in an AI age
Alongside his critique, Pope Leo XIV has offered a positive vision of how AI might be integrated without hollowing out human presence. He has emphasized the importance of preserving real human voices and faces in communication, warning that synthetic media can easily impersonate authority figures or loved ones. In his message for World Communications Day, he described how systems that simulate human voices and faces, as well as wisdom, knowledge, awareness, responsibility, empathy, and friendship, can create the illusion of encounter while actually distancing people from one another. He urged communicators to prioritize transparency about what is generated by machines and to ensure that technology supports genuine meeting rather than replacing it, a theme explored in detail when he spoke about simulating human voices.
His focus on human presence has resonated in Catholic media circles, where editors and pastors are grappling with how to use AI tools without erasing the personal dimension of ministry. Commentators have stressed that World Communications Day is now as much about deepfakes and automated content as it is about traditional journalism, and they have echoed his call to preserve human voices and faces in public discourse. Outlets such as Exaudi have framed the day around the need to protect the integrity of images and speech in a digital environment saturated with synthetic content, highlighting how the Church wants to keep the human person at the center of communication, as seen in reflections on World Communications Day and its theme of Preserving Human Voices and Faces.
More from Morning Overview