Pope Leo XIV has issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his four-day visit to France. The pontiff cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines" in wide-ranging remarks to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace, following an hour of talks with President Emmanuel Macron.
This is not the first time Pope Leo XIV has spoken out about the risks of AI. Earlier this year, he mentioned the need for AI to be "disarmed" in the first major teaching document of his papacy, referencing the slave trade and suggesting that the world was in danger of normalising the exploitation of people once again.
The highpoint of Pope Leo XIV's visit to France is set to be a giant Mass attended by more than half a million people in Paris on Saturday, for which an altar has been built on the Place de la Concorde and a large area around the Champs-Élysées sealed off by police. Large crowds are expected throughout the trip, reflecting an enthusiasm that the Church attributes to growing spirituality among the French and other Europeans.
Pope Leo XIV was greeted at Orly airport early on Friday by Macron, with the pair expected to deliver a speech later in the day in Metz. Crowds were meanwhile gathering along a route to the Notre Dame, where the pontiff will later be driven in his popemobile. The president will not be at any of the Pope's Masses, largely to avoid breaching France's strict separation of state and religion.
On Friday, Macron hailed Pope Leo XIV's visit to France as a "great honour", stressing that French secularism "in no way negates religion". Leo said that "authentic secularity" should not exclude religion "from the public sphere or from education". In recent years, French politicians have often invoked France's brand of secularism to justify bans on religious symbols, including Muslim women's attire, in public spaces and schools.
Several candidates for next year's presidential election are due to attend the Champs-Élysées Mass, including Marine Le Pen of the nationalist right, centrists Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, and conservative Bruno Retailleau. There were reports of tensions between Macron and the Vatican team sent to make arrangements, with the president allegedly frustrated in his wish for a more ceremonial aspect to the visit.
Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago in 1955 as Robert Prevost, has a personal connection to France, with his paternal grandmother born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. During his visit, he will also meet a group of migrants in Paris, and in Lourdes some victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy. The Pope's visit comes at a time when France has secularised with the rest of Europe, and less than half of the population identifies as Catholic.
Key points
- Pope Leo XIV warns against the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) during his visit to France.
- The Pope's visit to France is expected to draw large crowds, with over half a million people attending a Mass in Paris.
- Pope Leo XIV has a personal connection to France, with his paternal grandmother born in Normandy in 1894.
