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The Vatican has stepped into the global conversation on artificial intelligence with a sweeping new document that addresses the ethical challenges and opportunities posed by the fast-evolving technology. Released on Tuesday, the document, titled “Antiqua et Nova,” offers guidelines for the use of AI in areas ranging from warfare and healthcare to education and the environment. At its core, the Vatican stresses that AI should complement, not replace, human intelligence and dignity.
Pope Francis, who has repeatedly warned about the risks of unchecked AI development, has made this document a cornerstone of his call for ethical responsibility in technology. The release comes at a pivotal moment, as advancements like the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek challenge the dominance of U.S. tech giants, raising questions about the global race for AI supremacy.
AI and Warfare: A Call for Caution
One of the most striking sections of the document addresses the use of AI in warfare. The Vatican warns that autonomous weapons systems, which can identify and strike targets without human intervention, pose a grave threat to humanity. “No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being,” the document said, stressing that removing human moral judgment from warfare could lead to a destabilizing arms race with catastrophic consequences.
“Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, which are capable of identifying and striking targets without direct human intervention, are a cause for grave ethical concern because they lack the unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making,” it said.
AI and Human Relationships: No Substitute for Empathy
The Vatican also cautions against the over-reliance on AI in personal relationships, particularly in areas like child development and interpersonal connections. While AI can simulate empathy, it cannot replicate the depth of authentic human relationships. “AI can only simulate relationships,” the document noted, “but human beings are meant to experience them genuinely.”
Misinformation, Healthcare, and Education
The Vatican also addresses the dangers of AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes, urging individuals to verify the truth of what they share online. “Countering AI-driven falsehoods requires the efforts of all people of goodwill,” the document said. In addition, it recognized AI’s potential to improve medical diagnostics but stresses that it must not replace the human connection between patients and healthcare providers.
“Decisions regarding patient treatment and the weight of responsibility they entail must always remain with the human person and should never be delegated to AI,” it asserts.
In education, the Vatican urges that AI be used to foster critical thinking rather than simply training students to amass information. “Education is not about filling one’s head with ideas but about engaging the mind, heart, and hands,” it said, calling on schools and universities to address the ethical dimensions of technology. “An essential part of education is forming the intellect to reason well in all matters, to reach out towards truth, and to grasp it, while helping the “language of the head to grow harmoniously with the language of the heart and the language of the hands.”
AI Accountability
The Vatican’s document underscores the need for accountability in AI development, warning against the concentration of power in the hands of a few tech giants. “AI should not be seen as an artificial form of human intelligence but as a product of it,” it said, calling for a moral evaluation of how and when AI technologies are used.
Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, described the document as a balanced approach that neither embraces apocalyptic fears nor uncritically celebrates AI. “It’s trying to see the potential and celebrate the extraordinary achievement that AI is,” he said, emphasizing humanity’s God-given capacity to innovate responsibly.