WorldPosted at: Sep 26 2026 11:25PM


Pope Leo raises AI misuse on first day of France visit, cautions 'paradise of machines'

Paris, Sep 26 (UNI) Pope Leo XIV has raised the issue of artificial intelligence, warning that humanity risks being overwhelmed by what he called a "paradise of machines".
The 71-year-old head of the Catholic Church is on a four-day visit to France, this is the first after he ascended to the papacy.
"If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a 'paradise of machines' invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good," Leo said on Friday, during an address at the Élysée Palace after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron and other government and diplomatic officials.
Speaking later at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Leo argued that technological advances must remain centred on human beings rather than inadvertently becoming instruments of domination or injustice.
"Every science risks losing its proper meaning when pursued without ethics," he said, warning that the increasing use of the term "intelligence" for artificial systems could also obscure questions around human dignity.
"While intelligence is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognise the inalienable dignity of human persons whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, rejected and discarded," he said.
On Saturday, with a large outdoor Mass at Paris's Place de la Concorde, followed by prayers with the faithful in Lourdes, the pontiff's visit has drawn large crowds across the capital, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend events in Paris/
On Friday, the first day of his visit, about 300,000 people turned out to see Leo as he travelled through Paris in his popemobile, according to the Vatican. Later, around 80,000 young people attended a prayer vigil at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Leo also criticised political leaders who, he said, invoke the rule of law when it suits their interests but ignore it when it constrains them. He did not name any individual.
"Instead of respecting the law, those in power invoke it when it serves their interests and disregard it when it restrains them, treating even justice itself as though it were a commodity to be bought and sold," he said.
The pope has repeatedly raised concerns about the direction of global leadership since becoming pontiff in 2025. In April, he said the world was being "ravaged by a handful of tyrants".
His visit to France, the first official papal trip to the country since Pope Benedict XVI travelled there in 2008, also includes a visit to Lourdes, where Leo is due to meet privately with survivors of clergy sexual abuse. He will later travel to Metz, near the German border, for the final stage of the visit, where peace in Europe is expected to feature prominently.
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