Tue 22 September 2026:
Pope Leo, who has warned of the risk that AI could lead the world down a path of unending war, on Monday urged the development of AI systems that do not foster divisions in society but strengthen peace initiatives.
“In a world marked by conflict and division, the development of artificial intelligence calls for a vision inspired by wisdom and charity,” the pontiff said in a message to a conference on AI issues held in Rome.
The pope called for development of AI systems that “serve the dignity of every person and strengthen the bonds that unite the human family”.
Leo, the first US-born pope, has made addressing the possible dangers of AI development a major theme of his 16-month-old papacy, first discussing the issue publicly on his third day as pope.
In his first major document, issued in May, Leo warned that AI systems spread misinformation and prioritise conflict. He urged international regulation of the industry.
Monday’s conference, hosted at Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, was titled “AI4Peace.” Speakers included US economist Jeffrey Sachs, Rome city council president Svetlana Celli and Francisco Rojas Aravena, rector of the UN’s University for Peace, based in Costa Rica.
Leo’s brief message was read aloud to attendees by Rev. Andrea Ciucci, chancellor of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life.
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AI is a powerful tool for connection—and for division. Used badly, it weakens the shared facts and trust that hold societies and countries together.
Generative models can flood the internet with cheap deepfakes, fake news sites, and bot swarms. State and partisan actors already use them to smear candidates, fake withdrawals, and inflame ethnic or religious tensions. Even when a clip is later debunked, the first impression sticks. People stop agreeing on what happened, so elections, protests, and diplomacy become harder.
Recommendation algorithms and AI-written content then lock users in separate realities. Outrage travels faster than correction. That polarizes voters inside countries and hardens blocs between them: each side sees the other as uniquely dishonest or dangerous.
Beyond politics, AI-enabled surveillance, targeted harassment, and non-consensual deepfake porn erode dignity and civil peace. Job displacement without a shared safety net fuels resentment between workers, regions, and nations. Military and cyber uses of AI raise the risk of accidents and mutual suspicion.
The result is not one global conversation but many incompatible ones. Unity depends on a minimum of common truth and good faith. Negative uses of AI attack both—unless governments, platforms, and citizens treat verification and restraint as public goods, not afterthoughts.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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