Pope Warns of AI Risks to Young Brains.

Pope Leo XIV warned on Friday about the possible impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on young people’s intellectual development, claiming it could undermine their grasp on reality.

Since his appointment as leader of the Catholic Church on May 8, the pope, a mathematics graduate, has regularly warned of the dangers of artificial intelligence, but this is the first time he has spoken solely about the issue.

The American pope issued a written statement to participants at the second Rome Conference on AI, expressing worry about the impact of AI on children’s intellectual and neurological development.

“No generation has ever had such immediate access to the amount of information available through AI.

“But again, access to data—however extensive—must not be confused with intelligence,” Leo said corporate leaders, policymakers, and scholars attending the annual conference.

While applauding the use of AI to “improve research in healthcare and scientific discovery,” the pope expressed concern about its potential impact on humanity’s “distinctive ability to grasp and process reality.”

In recent weeks, deepfake films and audio messages have targeted Pope Leo himself on social media platforms.

An AFP investigation earlier this month discovered dozens of YouTube and TikTok pages that broadcast AI-generated messages posing as authentic comments from the pope in English or Spanish.

According to a survey conducted this week by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, a large percentage of young people, in particular, use chatbots to acquire headlines and updates.

The Catholic Church lately worked to influence ethical thinking around the use of modern technology under Leo’s predecessor, Francis.

In 2020, the Vatican launched the Rome Call for AI Ethics, which was signed by Microsoft, IBM, the United Nations, Italy, and a number of colleges, encouraging openness and respect for privacy.