Pope Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, a document on the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, the Vatican announced today. His signature came on the 135th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s famous encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” which came in response to the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution and is considered the beginning of the church’s modern social teaching.

The new encyclical is titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), following the convention of identifying an encyclical by its first two words in Latin. It will be presented in the Vatican’s synod hall at 11:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. Eastern time) on Monday, May 25.  Breaking with precedent, the American-born pope will speak at the presentation of the text and provide a final blessing, the Vatican said. According to sources, the encyclical is lengthy. 

The Vatican has also invited Christopher Olah, the co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic, to be one of the speakers at the presentation. Anthropic has billed itself as the A.I. company that puts safety and risk mitigation at the forefront of its research. As a result, the presence of Anthropic’s Mr. Olah at the Vatican is significant and suggests that the pope’s position on A.I. will become a new flashpoint with the Trump administration.

In February, the Trump administration ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties for refusing to allow the U.S. military unrestricted use of Anthropic’s A.I. technology. Anthropic is currently suing the administration, accusing of retaliating against it illegally because of its attempt to impose limits on how its A.I. technology can be deployed.

[Related: What A.I. has to do with poverty and human dignity]

In addition to Mr. Olah, the document will be presented by three cardinals and two female theologians. 

The cardinals are: Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Argentine-born prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which always has an important say in the writing of encyclicals; Michael Czerny, S.J., the Croatian-born Canadian prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, who played a key role in the creation of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’” and seems to have had a similar role with this encyclical; and Pietro Parolin, the Italian-born secretary of state, who will give the concluding remarks.

The English-born professor Anna Rowlands, who teaches ethics and political theology at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom, will also present the encyclical. An expert in the social doctrine of the church and the theological ethics of human migration, she was also on the panel that presented “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical on human fraternity.

Léocadie Lushombo, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a consecrated woman and missionary engaged with the Teresian Association, which promotes education for marginalized people in more than 30 countries. She is a professor of theological ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, Calif.

In June 2024, Pope Francis addressed the G7 summit and warned of the misuse of artificial intelligence in war. Pope Leo issued a similar warning when he addressed professors and students at Rome’s La Sapienza University last week, saying:

We must also keep a watchful eye on the development and application of artificial intelligence in both military and civilian contexts, to ensure that they do not absolve humans of responsibility for their choices and do not exacerbate the tragedy of conflicts. What is happening in Ukraine, Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Iran illustrates the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies into a spiral of annihilation. Study, research and investment must move in the opposite direction: Let them be a radical “yes” to life! Yes to innocent life, yes to young life, yes to the life of peoples who invoke peace and justice!  

It is expected that he will address this subject again in the highly anticipated forthcoming encyclical.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.