Pope Leo XIV disclosed that his chosen papal name was partly inspired by the emerging challenges posed by a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. In his inaugural formal speech as the Vatican’s newly elected pope on Saturday, Leo explained to the College of Cardinals that he selected his name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who led the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. During his tenure, Leo XIII was committed to social issues and workers' rights at a time when much of the world was being transformed by the Industrial Revolution. While he acknowledged multiple factors behind his choice, Leo XIV mainly highlighted Leo XIII’s seminal encyclical “Rerum Novarum, ” also known as “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor, ” which established the basis for contemporary Catholic social doctrine. Issued in 1891, the letter stressed the urgent need to find remedies for the “misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class. ” “In our era, the Church offers to all the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and advancements in artificial intelligence that present new challenges to defending human dignity, justice, and labor, ” said Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, during his Saturday address, according to a transcript. Similar to the Industrial Revolution, the rapid development of generative AI in recent years has already transformed society and sparked widespread concern about its effects on human employment.

Largely unregulated worldwide, AI has fueled misinformation—including the misuse of stolen human likenesses—and triggered disputes over intellectual property and job losses. Pope Francis himself fell victim to AI-driven disinformation in 2023 when an AI-generated image of him wearing a stylish puffer jacket went viral—marking one of the first major examples of AI’s potential to deceive and spread falsehoods. In a cautionary message issued by Francis early last year, the pope warned that AI could promote “partially or completely false narratives, ” deepen “echo chambers, ” and create “new castes based on access to information, ” thereby fostering “new forms of exploitation and inequality. ” Leo, the first pope born in the U. S. , signaled in his Saturday speech his intention to continue advancing the social justice efforts of Francis, who was renowned for his dedication to the cause. “The example set by so many of my predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself—with his full dedication to service, his sober simplicity of life, his complete trust in God throughout his ministry, and his serene confidence at the moment of his passing—is clearly evident, ” the transcript stated. “Let us embrace this precious legacy and press onward on our journey, inspired by the same hope born of faith. ”