Loading...
Loading...
The Vatican is centering artificial intelligence in its moral discourse by featuring Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah at the May 25 launch of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas. The document and event aim to address preservation of the human person amid AI advances, mixing theological voices—Cardinals Víctor Manuel Fernández, Michael Czerny and Pietro Parolin—with AI expertise from Olah and theologian Anna Rowlands. Bringing a leading AI researcher into a papal forum signals a deliberate move to blend religious social doctrine with technical perspectives on AI ethics and governance, framing the technology as a key topic for global moral reflection.
A brief post collected by Simon Willison quotes Corey Quinn on May 26, 2026, criticizing what Quinn calls an extraordinary act of vendor lobbying: persuading the Pope to effectively canonize a product’s technical limitations via an encyclical influenced by Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah. Willison’s weblog links this remark to recent coverage of Pope Leo XIV’s AI encyclical and other AI topics, framing the exchange as commentary on the intersection of AI ethics, corporate influence, and public authority. The takeaway is scrutiny of how tech companies and influential figures can shape moral or regulatory narratives around AI and product design.
Jack Jenkins / RNS : How Anthropic's ongoing discussions with the Vatican about ethics and AI led to Christopher Olah being invited to Pope Leo's unveiling of an encyclical on AI — (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical on AI is set to be released Monday (May 27), with Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, at his side.
Pope Leo XIV will publish his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, on May 25, 2026, addressing preservation of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. The Vatican will present the document at the Synod Hall with the Pope and speakers including Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Cardinal Michael Czerny, theologian Anna Rowlands, and Christopher Olah — co-founder of AI firm Anthropic and head of AI interpretability research. The event signals the Vatican engaging directly with AI ethics and governance, bringing religious social doctrine into conversation with leading AI researchers. Cardinal Pietro Parolin will close the session, followed by an address and blessing from the Pope.
Flavia Rotondi / Bloomberg : The Vatican says Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah will join Pope Leo on May 25 to launch the pope's first encyclical, setting out his views on the AI age — Pope Leo XIV's launch of his first encyclical focusing on artificial intelligence next week will feature an unexpected guest: Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic.