Pope calls for unity between church, artists amid AI surge

Pope Leo XIV proposed a stronger alliance between the Vatican and the artistic community to safeguard what he described as art’s humanity amid the rise of artificial intelligence, according to a Friday statement. There’s a big philosophical difference, far beyond aesthetics, between art created by humans and art generated by a machine, the pontiff wrote. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity and use statistical calculations to generate an image based on millions of images already created by others, he continued. Leo called for a stronger alliance between the church and cultural institutions and artists as a means of safeguarding humanity.

Leo repeated the message on Monday while meeting with delegations from the Vatican Lay Employees Association and the Women in the Vatican Association, two Vatican labor groups, according to the Holy See. It’s more important than ever to focus on the irreplaceable human nature and dignity of work, he said. Work is not merely a tool, but an essential requirement for a human path to development and personal fulfillment, Leo said.

Michael O'Flaherty, Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, released a Saturday statement after meeting with Leo, praising the pontiff’s essential leadership amid the rise of artificial intelligence. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., echoed Leo’s sentiments in a separate Sunday statement. Art isn’t a superfluous luxury but rather a crucial part of the human experience, and Big Tech must not be allowed to destroy it, he wrote.

Dig deeper: Read Bekah Bernhardt’s report in WORLD Magazine analyzing whether AI movies could become Hollywood blockbusters.