Silicon Valley Seeks Influence Over Vatican AI Doctrine

Silicon Valley technology companies are attempting to shape the Vatican’s position on artificial intelligence ahead of the publication of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical. Representatives from firms including Meta, Google and Amazon have held a series of meetings in recent months with Catholic Church officials and diplomats.

One such meeting took place in Rome at the end of April following a brief audience with the Pope. Discussions later continued at the French Embassy to the Holy See, focusing particularly on child protection and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence.

Since the beginning of his pontificate, Leo XIV has signaled that technology and AI will be among the defining themes of his papacy. In doing so, he has drawn parallels with Pope Leo XIII, who addressed the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century.

Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, is expected to attend Monday’s presentation of the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. Anthropic is known for emphasizing AI safety and has long cooperated with the Vatican on debates surrounding the ethics of emerging technologies.

Washington is also closely monitoring the document’s development. In May, the US Embassy to the Holy See hosted events on artificial intelligence and the future of work featuring representatives from OpenAI.

(politico, bak)