JD Vance Praises Pope Leo XIV’s AI Encyclical Warning Against Unrestrained Technology

Pope Leo XIV issued his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, warning against unrestrained technological advancement in artificial intelligence and urging “responsible care for the human family.”

“'What I read of it sounds very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the church,' JD Vance tells NBC News Diyar Guldogan 27 May 2026•Update: 27 May 2026 WASHINGTON US Vice President JD Vance praised Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday for issuing a theological warning about the risks of unchecked advancements in artificial intelligence (AI)”

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In Washington, US Vice President JD Vance praised the pope’s AI warnings in a phone interview with NBC News, saying “What I read of it sounds very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the church.”

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The encyclical was published May 25 and signed on May 15, and the National Catholic Register reported that it framed the choice as either building a “new Tower of Babel” or the city where “God and humanity dwell together.”

The same document tied its AI concerns to Catholic social teaching, with the National Catholic Register noting that Archbishop Paul Coakley said Leo’s message echoes Rerum Novarum’s social concerns amid “the technological advancement experienced through the industrial revolution.”

US bishops reacted positively to Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, with Archbishop Paul Coakley saying the pope calls for technology to support “peace and the common good rather than the limited interest of a few.”

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a video message that Leo “wants to defend the dignity of humanity,” while Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, called the encyclical “welcome in this time of tremendous social and technological change.”

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But the CNBC report described a split inside the Trump administration, quoting Interior Secretary Doug Burgum as saying, “I didn't know that tech editorializing was part of the role of being pope.”

CNBC also quoted Vance praising the same message as “profound” and “moral leadership,” while adding that the split response underscored politics for President Donald Trump as he makes AI dominance and deregulation central to his second-term agenda.

The encyclical’s warnings placed “disarming AI” at the center of its approach, with Pope Leo XIV writing that “merely regulating it is insufficient; it must be disarmed, welcoming and accessible.”

“Big names in tech, politics, and more are responding to the pope's lengthy letter about AI”

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In the Vatican presentation, Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah said the Church’s voice matters because “there be people outside those incentives—people who care about things going well and insist on safety.”

Olah also warned that “AI development is concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations,” and he said the Church has historically refused to let the world ignore the question of how “the gains of AI are shared globally.”

CNBC framed the immediate political stakes as the White House resisting “new guardrails,” while Forbes reported that Leo’s encyclical called for stronger AI oversight and warned the technology could displace workers, deepen inequality, and put lethal weapons decisions beyond human control.