Technology and Science · updated 56m ago · 2 min read
Pope Leo XIV Warns AI “Paradise Of Machines” Undermines Humanity In France With Macron
Pope Leo XIV opened a France visit, warning AI could create a 'paradise of machines'. He urged ethical discernment and education to prevent technology from dominating daily life.
Whether to foreground Lourdes clerical abuse meetings.
9 of 12 outlets skipped it: macron hosts the pope as his term ends, aiming to capture popularity.
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The Guardian
“Leo will also visit Lourdes, a pilgrimage site for Christians worldwide, where he will privately meet seven victims of clerical sex abuse.”Read the original ↗
NPR
“The Rev. Aristide Ahidote, from Ivory Coast, was among those who planned to attend the pope's vespers service in Notre Dame later Friday.”Read the original ↗
Only some outlets foreground abuse-case contact, shifting emphasis from policy theology to accountability.
AI ethics at Élysée
Pope Leo XIV opened his four-day France trip by warning that a “paradise of machines” risked undermining humanity as he posed “fundamental questions about what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence” at the Élysée Palace. Pope Leo XIV told President Emmanuel Macron and authorities that “there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment,” framing AI as a threat to human dignity and fundamental freedoms. Pope Leo XIV also reaffirmed the Vatican’s opposition to nuclear weapons and said the nuclear deterrence doctrine was “mistaken” because it was “just fueling a new arms race.”
Pope Leo XIV delivered the opening message to Macron and diplomats at the Élysée and then to diplomats and United Nations employees at UNESCO in Paris. Emmanuel Macron welcomed Pope Leo XIV and said the visit brings “a source of hope” to many French people.
Faith, power, reason
Pope Léon XIV argued for a “just laïcité” that reintegrates spirituality at the heart of the republican debate during his speech at the Élysée. Pope Léon XIV said a modern Republic gains nothing by relegating spirituality to the private sphere alone, and he urged that “just laïcité” must allow faith to fertilize democratic debate. Pope Léon XIV warned against the ethical drift of artificial intelligence by quoting Georges Bernanos and urging France to preserve moral discernment in the face of the power of algorithms.
Pope Léon XIV invoked the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and jurist René Cassin to argue that no lasting peace is built in contempt of spiritual freedom. Pope Léon XIV closed his Élysée address with a call for ethical dialogue among all components of the country, affirming that the republican motto finds its true fulfillment only in the absolute respect for human dignity.
Security, UNESCO, and turnout
Pope Leo XIV’s trip placed UNESCO, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Metz on the agenda, with the pope due to speak at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and celebrate vespers at the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral. Pope Leo XIV’s schedule also included a youth vigil at the Stade de France, and La Croix described the vigil’s program beginning with a prologue as “80,000 young people” settled into the stadium. Hélène Denéchère said Paris police planned a protective perimeter and additional security perimeters, and she said the setup would be similar to the one used during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
La Croix reported that the cathedral homily included a prayer turning to the Virgin of the Pillar, and it quoted Pope Léon XIV saying, “May Mary, who kept the Word in her womb, keep your fidelity.” AP reported that church bells across France tolled when Leo’s charter flight landed at Paris Orly airport, and it said upward of a million people are expected to turn out during the visit.