POPE Leo has warned that a “paradise of machines” risked undermining humanity as he opened a trip to France by posing fundamental questions about what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence.
Leo raised existential questions about scientific progress, life and human rights during his opening speech to French president Emmanuel Macron and diplomats at the Elysee Palace.
Given the wars plaguing Europe and the Middle East, he reaffirmed the Vatican’s opposition to nuclear weapons and said the nuclear deterrence doctrine was “mistaken” since it was just fuelling a new arms race.
“Peace is not a balance of power; rather, it is built day-by-day through dialogue and justice,” he said.
Leo, whose paternal ancestors were French, arrived in Paris at the start of four days in France, where the Catholic Church has lost ground on influencing ethical issues given the strict approach to secularism that is enshrined in the French constitution.
Church bells tolled across France as Leo’s charter flight landed at Paris’ Orly airport, and upwards of a million people are expected to turn out to see him. The welcome has underscored the surprising level of interest in Leo’s visit, the first official state visit by a pope in 18 years.
Macron said Leo’s visit brings “a source of hope” to many French people.
“France stands on the side of peace, effective multilateralism, respect for international law and the United Nations Charter… because every life has equal value, and all peoples must be defended,” he said.
Later on Friday, Leo would visit Unesco headquarters, celebrate vespers at the newly reopened Notre-Dame cathedral and then preside over a large youth vigil at the Paris stadium.
For Macron, who is barred from seeking a third term in May elections, hosting the American pope is something of a capstone, after Pope Francis refused repeatedly to make a proper state visit to France during his 12-year pontificate.
“For a president of the republic as Macron, who is at the end of his mandate, it can be important to be aside the Pope and to capture a part of his popularity. It’s not new,” Charles Mercier, director of history and sociology of Catholicism studies at Paris EPHE university, said.
With seven months left in his term, Macron’s approval ratings are near record lows, driven by anger over the rising cost of living and criticism of France’s growing debt and deficit and deteriorating public services.
Smiling broadly as Leo spoke French, Macron thanked the Pope for visiting, saying: “You are here with us for an extended visit, giving us your time, and that is moving.”
Leo has been keen to emphasise Europe’s Christian roots and try to push the church’s message about the value and dignity of human life in a country where the right to abortion was enshrined in the constitution in 2024, and where politicians recently gave final approval to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication.
The French Catholic hierarchy strongly opposed the measures, in keeping with Catholic teaching that human life must be protected and defended from conception until natural death.
In his speech to Macron and other government and diplomatic authorities, Leo called for France especially to remember that the right to life is the “indispensable foundation of every other human right”.
He recalled France’s “deep Christian roots” and the recognition of human rights in warning about scientific progress and artificial intelligence.
“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good,” he said.
From the very start of his pontificate, Leo has identified artificial intelligence as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. He dedicated his first encyclical to the topic, Magnificent Humanity, calling for robust regulation and for AI developers to work for the common good rather than profit.
Leo also appealed to AI developers and political leaders responsible for regulating them to slow down, an appeal that several top AI companies seem to have taken to heart recently.
Speaking to reporters en route to Paris, Leo said he was pleased that his message was being heard and said he hoped the dialogue that the Vatican had initiated with tech companies would continue.
“And I think from their perspective, many of them, they’re very much open to looking for ways of making sure that AI does not displace or ultimately destroy humanity, but rather be a tool for human beings,” he said.
“Good things are beginning at least.”
On the flight, Leo was also asked by a CNN reporter about the Trump administration’s attempt to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico news organisations from the White House. Leo said he welcomed media coverage and affirmed the need for it.
“I am very happy that here, you are all welcome,” he said.
Good media coverage was important, he said, and equally important “that we have it all the way around, for everyone”.
