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The Catholic Church, AI, and defence might not be three things you would expect to intersect, but in his latest encyclical letter, Pope Leo XIV has addressed all three in relation to the way technology is changing war.
“Magnifica humanitas: On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence” is Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical and has called for the “disarming” of AI.
The Chicago-born Pope said AI-enabled warfare is presenting a major moral and strategic threat, and that the usage of AI in weapons systems makes war more “impersonal” and easier to escalate and demoralise.
“The digital revolution is changing the nature of conflict … no algorithm can make war morally acceptable,” he said.
Encyclical letters are public addresses by the leader of the Catholic Church and are used to explain the church’s teaching on major moral, social or philosophical issues. Historically, they address war and peace, security, social cohesion and, more recently, technology.
Weapons, autonomous systems and AI
From a defence viewpoint, AI is being increasingly used as a strategic tactic and is seen in industry as generally a net positive.
The acceleration of uncrewed, autonomous systems in global defence operations is a way that industry is harnessing the tools and capabilities of this omnipresent technology to advance modern defence tactics and, hopefully, reduce the human cost of war.
However, as Pope Leo XIV argued, this risks the growth of the already dehumanising nature of conflict.
He said that the Holy See, the jurisdiction/government within Vatican City, is concerned about the ways in which AI is so intrinsically void of humanity, conscience and moral understanding and why this poses a major concern when using it in defence.
“AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defence into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data,” he said.
“The Holy See has recently observed that the growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed makes war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control.”
“This violates the principle that armed force should be used only as a last resort in cases of legitimate self-defence.”
The Pope further said that modern conflict is being driven by a broader “culture of power” where peace is temporary and war is normalised.
This is, in all essence, a crackdown and broad criticism of countries’ competition to become a “great power” and the global defence industry as a whole.
He warned that this rush to power risks responsibility and accountability in the actions of AI, even when the risk to human life is present.
“When a decision to strike becomes automated or opaque, the risk of abdicating responsibility increases,” he said.
“While AI tends to expedite the decision-making processes, speed and efficiency should never be the supreme motivating force for the irreversible decisions made in the context of war.”
He added that the growth in the arms industry, the nuclear arms race, and the emergence of new armed actors, specifically highlighting “jihadist groups, private militias and criminal networks”, emphasises the financial incentive that war brings.
“The armaments industry, and countries that supply weapons, profit from a market that thrives precisely on conflicts. In this sense, there are also financial interests that contribute to fuelling tensions in various regions of the world.
“It is much easier to start a war than to stop it, and yet, discussion on conflict prevention remains tragically marginal.”
Just War
The just war doctrine is the Christian moral framework for determining when war is ethically justified and how it should be conducted.
It said that war is only valid under strict conditions, such as just cause or protection of civilians, and has been deeply influential in Western political and military values.
Notably, in his encyclical, the Pope challenged the “Just War” doctrine, which he said is outdated and has been used by nations to incorrectly justify conflict.
“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defence in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” Pope Leo said.
“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness.
“The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.”
Final thoughts
Religious beliefs aside, I believe that the Pope’s address on the issues in AI, and specifically with defence, acts as an important reminder for people with a social following of any kind to use their platforms for good when necessary.
It is important for non-government, non-political people and organisations to speak out on global issues, as it helps for a larger perspective to be heard and discussed, promoting healthy global discourse on critical topics.
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