Pope Leo XIV offered the Church’s moral guidance on the defining crisis of this era: AI. The encyclical, titled Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), centers on human dignity as AI takes over every facet of our lives. It is no coincidence that the Pope signed it on May 15th, 135 years to the day after his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, signed Rerum Novarum, a landmark encyclical on workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution. This parallel highlights the Church’s core concern: we have been here before, and AI’s impact on our economy, safety, and humanity itself cannot go unchecked. 

Pope Leo warned that AI and its impacts, including mass job loss and environmental degradation, heighten the risk of dehumanization. Humanity must not be subjugated in the name of greater efficiency and technological innovation that only benefits a wealthy few – something he stated explicitly, adding that AI has tended to “amplify the power of those who already possess economic resources, expertise, and access to data”. 

However, Pope Leo’s concerns are already playing out in real time to American workers as large corporations continue to lay off workers to integrate AI into their labor forces. Pope Leo warned that rapid automation could displace workers and reshape our labor markets in ways that would risk leaving many in “forced inactivity,” undermining both human dignity and social stability. 

That warning resonates with working Americans already watching jobs – both blue- and white-collar, across every industry – disappear. Even Anthropic’s co-founder, Christopher Olah, who stood alongside the Pope at the encyclical’s Vatican presentation, acknowledged the stakes at hand. He warned that there is “a real possibility” that AI will displace human labor “at a very large scale,” adding that “if that happens, supporting those displaced will be a moral imperative of historic proportions”.

The Pope is calling for stronger legal frameworks, safeguards, and political leadership to ensure AI developers work for the public good rather than profit – especially in preserving what it means to be human

But Washington is far behind in advancing AI safeguards, and all Americans are facing the consequences. The Pope has done his part: naming the problem, identifying the stakes, and calling on leaders to act. American policymakers must rise to meet the moment.