RTMH: Pope Leo's Magnifica Humanitas on AI

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RTMH: Pope Leo's Magnifica Humanitas on AI

Zvi Mowshowitz<br>May 26, 2026

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His holiness has spoken, frequently about AI. At eighty two pages of length.<br>The full Magnifica Humanitas can be found here.<br>I am very happy that Pope Leo takes these issues seriously, and is sharing his views, and bringing a form of moral clarity, even with all the flaws and central errors. More people with voice should share their views in this way, even when I disagree.<br>It’s a weird document. Much of it is not about AI at all.<br>I do agree with the Pope’s most basic point on AI, which is that AI can be what we make of it. That we can steer this technology, determine how it is developed and used, and this can determine whether we get a good or not so good future. We cannot purely leave this to market incentives and strategic pressures. Yes, very much so.<br>The central problem is that so much of Leo’s worldview is some combination, to me, of highly alien and highly wrong. You might think that would primarily have a lot to do with him being the Pope and rather Catholic, and being a man of faith, whereas I am not these things.<br>If so, you would be wrong. That seems to have remarkably little to do with all of this.<br>There was also a lot of good here, but I was centrally disappointed on three fronts:<br>The central claim, wherein Leo denies that AIs can think or importantly be minds, is wrong, as Olah points out in his statements.

Without the understanding of what AI is capable of becoming, the document effectively only deals with relatively mundane AI dangers and changes, although that on its own is still rather quite a lot to deal with and discuss.

Pope Leo subscribes to a view of economics and a System of the World that I believe are simply wrong about what actions and systems cause what consequences, subscribing to what is effectively an institutionalist, European technocrat, left-wing social justice socialist labor-centered perspective, especially with treating the role of the economy as creating and protecting ‘good jobs.’ To his credit and that of previous Popes, they do understand the central value of development and growth, but they reject the ways we get there in practice.

You want some amount of people pushing in the direction of peace and mercy and dialogue and watching out for the poor and disempowered, and calling on us to do more for our fellow man. So as part of a balanced bigger picture, this could be actively good, but Europe has shown us the peril of lacking this balance.<br>This post will summarize the whole thing, going number by number, with occasional commentary focused on the key AI section in the middle.<br>Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah visited the Vatican for the occasion. He endorsed the document, but also offered remarks disagreeing with the central point (paragraph 99). I’ll discuss that afterwards, along with how the media viewed the release.<br>Table of Contents

A Brief History of Magnifica Humanitas.

Economic Models Very Different From Our Own.

A New Jerusalem.

So Sayeth The Pope (on AI).

The Case Against Human Achievement.

Truth, Justice and the Vatican Way.

They Took Our Jobs.

What Is Not Fair In Love and War.

Come Ye Christian Faithful.

The Other Missing Mood.

Pope Given About Five Words.

The Anthropic Principle.

Claude Can Read Your Code.

A Brief History of Magnifica Humanitas

Chapters 1 and 2 lay out some history. Any Pope is going to be a huge history nerd and set all this in its historical context. Leo does not disappoint.<br>Christianity is The Way.

Christianity is The Way.

If you see something [on Earth that matters], say something.

Tech can be good or bad. We decide which.

We must regulate, and also other things. Tech power grows private.

Which way, modern man?

Tower of Babel means various good things are actually bad. Confused.

Rebuilding of Jerusalem via Nehemiah shows value of diversity? Confused.

Tech can be good or bad. We decide which.

We must avoid ‘Babel syndrome’ and instead choose Way of Nehemiah. Diversity. Avoid a common language. Good things like peace, justice, fraternity, God.

God is The Way.

Do not try to fix the limits and weaknesses of humanity. That can lead to inequality. True fulfillment is about the least well off people.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

Speak no evil. All power to our socialist central planners.

Stay human, my friends. Listen.

God is The Way. Work only for the common good. Get your ‘hands dirty.’

We must go over the history of documents like this.

We must first review fundamental principles, and why life on Earth matters.

The Church should try to help improve the world. Tikkun olam.

The Church no longer gets to tell the State what to do.

Second Vatican Council affirmed that, but we’ll still try and give you a push.

The Church still speaks with moral authority.

The Church loves science, truth,...