UN member states should take steps to ban 'lethal autonomous weapons,' Pope Leo says
Pope Leo XIV says AI systems should be "disarmed," adding that humans "have the responsibility to guide, change and, when necessary, reject its applications." In Friday's Papal Address , Pope Leo encourages United Nations member states to "take concrete steps toward banning lethal autonomous weapons" during their meeting in Geneva next month
The address reflects many of the ideas Pope Leo laid out in his first major papal document in May, which highlighted "safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence." In line with his encyclical, Pope Leo tells participants that "Machines are tools, not persons," and warns about the dangers of granting AI systems rights or legal personhood. "Decisions affecting human life, freedom, and the use of force must always remain subject to effective, informed, and responsible human oversight," Pope Leo says
