Pope Leo XIV urges preserving human art from AI-generated content

On October 2, Pope Leo XIV took to X to urge the protection of human art in the age of artificial intelligence, drawing a clear line between human creativity and machine-generated output. As the Supreme Pontiff, he said distinguishing human art from what machines produce has become increasingly urgent.

“There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others,” the Pope wrote. “Algorithms lack the spark of humanity.” The post led some commentators to describe the Pope as a powerful new ally for critics of AI-generated art.

In May, Leo XIV issued an encyclical letter that addressed AI and human dignity in more detail, stressing the importance of human dignity in a world of increasing automation. His latest remarks are seen as an extension of that stance, this time focused on artistic creation.

The report also noted that Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, had lobbied the Vatican to reconsider its position on non-human consciousness. According to a September 29 New York Times report, the lobbying effort appeared to have little success.