Pope Leo XIV ‘Not Going to Authorize’ an AI Version of Himself

Pope Leo XIV isn’t ready to outsource himself to AI just yet. The first American-born pontiff refused to sign off on an idea that would have let Catholics log on from anywhere in the world and have a virtual audience with an artificial likeness of himself.

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“If there’s anybody who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the Pope is high on the list,” Pope Leo told Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen, who has written a new biography about Leo.

The pope told Allen that the proposal would have allowed Catholics to log on to a website and ask questions to an AI pope, who would then respond. 

“I said, ‘I’m not going to authorize that’,” he told Allen.

In early summer, the pope, a Chicago native, warned about the dangers AI poses for children, “and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development.” 

The pope has also said that AI, if not strongly regulated, could seriously harm human dignity, justice and labor.

But the pope said he’s not against AI entirely.

“I’m not at all against artificial intelligence,” he told Allen.”In the medical world, great things have happened because of AI, in other ways as well. Yet there’s a danger in this because you do end up creating a fake world, and then you wonder, what is the truth?”