5 Lessons from Pope Leo XIV: On Social Justice and AI

On May 8, 2025, Robert Francis Prevost (born 1955 in Chicago), a close associate of Pope Francis, was elected Pope after the death of Pope Francis. According to the Vatican, he is "the first Pope from the United States of America, and the first Augustinian Pope in the history of the Church." In his encyclical on social justice and artificial intelligence entitled in Latin Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), he sets forth the roots and principles of the Church's social doctrine and proceeds to analyze artificial intelligence and other forms of digital technology in accordance with the Church's social doctrine prioritizing human dignity and preferential service to the poor and marginalized. The document illustrates the incisive mind and warm faith of the Pope who was a missionary in Peru. Pope Leo XIV provides a voice of moral clarity and sanity in a world beset by flawed authoritarian leaders, by a resurgence of imperialism, war, and xenophobia, and by revolutionary technology that is deeply affecting education and the workplace and is controlled by a privileged elite. In these circumstances, Pope Leo is a voice raised in defense of those vulnerable to these trends.