Encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas”: the AI debate is really about concentration of power

Friends, a note from the AI world: Pope Leo XIV published an encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” framing the issue less as technology than as inequality, war, democratic erosion and concentration of power. The document was unveiled with Chris Olah (Anthropic).

Key points:
- Technologies controlled by a narrow elite are opaque and deepen dependency, manipulation and inequality.
- The encyclical calls for clear criteria and effective oversight involving affected communities.
- A plea to halt the race for ever-more powerful models and data.

Why it matters: it provides a moral-political basis for practical AI governance.

What should business and governments do first?