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Pope Leo’s first Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, on preserving the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, will be released on Monday 25 May ‍at 10.30am with a presentation at the Synod Hall in Rome.

The Vatican has repeatedly called for internationally agreed frameworks for safe AI development, with its Rome Call for Ethics initiative (2020) - which centres on six principles: transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security and privacy - signed by major technology companies including Microsoft and IBM.

More recently, in his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Leo highlighted marked concerns about the use of AI in global conflicts, and the importance of ensuring that technological innovation and AI serve the human person, rather than replacing or diminishing human dignity.

The Pope will attend Monday’s Encyclical launch, with presentations from several speakers: Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Professor Anna Rowlands, theologian at Durham University; Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic; and Professor Leocadie Lushombo, Professor of Political Theology and Catholic Social Thought at the US Jesuit School of Theology.

Magnifica Humanitas will be available to read shortly after publication on the Papal Encyclicals Online website.