In a recent press briefing aboard the papal aircraft following an official visit to France, Pope Leo XIV has delivered a measured but urgent call for global stakeholders to take the growing risks of unregulated artificial intelligence seriously, pushing back against the complacent attitude that assumes advanced AI systems will never pose tangible harm to humanity. The pontiff clarified that his stance is not rooted in panic, but in a deliberate recognition that expert warnings about AI’s potential dangers deserve serious consideration from global leaders and tech developers alike.\n\n”If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode? No, I’m not. I sleep at night,” Pope Leo told reporters, emphasizing that his concern is grounded in responsibility rather than fear. He rejected claims that the alarms raised by leading AI researchers are unfounded “fake news”, stressing that these concerns demand deliberate, collaborative engagement rather than dismissal.\n\nDrawing on recent public comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has repeatedly advocated for placing intentional guardrails around AI development, Pope Leo highlighted the ongoing global debate over what safeguards are needed to limit high-risk AI capabilities. He articulated a clear vision for cross-sector collaboration, arguing that political leaders, top AI industry executives, civil society organizations, and religious groups must convene to assess both current AI developments and long-term risks that could emerge as the technology grows more powerful.\n\n”We need to continue to invite political leaders, the leaders of AI, social organizations, associations to come together and look at what is happening already and what could be put down the road,” he said. “Simply closing one’s eyes to possible risks and saying ‘it’s not gonna happen’ would not be the most responsible approach.”\n\nIn a surprise reveal during the briefing, Pope Leo confirmed that the Vatican has launched its own internal commission focused exclusively on artificial intelligence, marking the Holy See’s formal institutional response to the ethical and societal challenges posed by advancing AI technology. This move aligns with the pontiff’s deepening focus on AI governance since he assumed the role of pope: just months earlier in May 2026, he released his first encyclical centered on the critical topic of protecting human dignity and autonomy in the AI era.\n\nPope Leo’s intervention comes at a time of intensifying global debate over AI regulation, as leading tech figures and researchers have repeatedly called for coordinated international action to mitigate catastrophic risks from unregulated advanced AI development. The pontiff’s call for cross-sector collaboration adds a prominent global moral voice to the growing chorus of advocates for proactive risk management.