Pope Leo XIV Rejects AI Avatar for Virtual Papal Audiences

Pope Leo XIV declined to authorize an AI avatar that would have provided virtual papal audiences to Catholics worldwide. The first American pontiff rejected the proposal during an interview with papal biographer Elise Allen. “Someone recently asked authorization to create an artificial me so that anybody could sign onto this website and have a personal audience with ‘the Pope,'” he said. “This artificial intelligence Pope would give them answers to their questions, and I said, ‘I’m not going to authorize that.'”

The Pope expressed broader concerns about AI’s societal impact. He warned that automation could leave only a few people able to live meaningful lives while others merely survive. These concerns influenced his papal name choice, taking inspiration from Pope Leo XIII, who authored Rerum novarum addressing workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution. Leo XIV maintained he isn’t opposed to technological innovation but believes links between faith, humanity, and science must be preserved.