Pope Leo calls for ‘responsible and discerning approach’ to AI, climate change

September 25, 2026

Pope Leo XIV called for a “responsible and discerning approach” to artificial intelligence (AI) and changes in the climate.

Addressing participants in a plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope Leo said that the “possibilities and risks” of AI “remind us that technological progress is never simply a technical matter.”

“Every technology reflects, whether explicitly or implicitly, a particular understanding of the human person, of society and of the future we wish to build,” the Pontiff said during the September 24 audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “Scientific and technological advancement must therefore be accompanied by a corresponding growth in responsibility.”

“The greater our power to transform the world, the greater must be our capacity to discern what truly serves God-given human dignity, to govern wisely, and to care for those who may bear the greatest consequences of our choices,” he continued.

Turning to the topic of climate change, the Pope said:

That same demand for responsibility is especially urgent in the face of climate change. We are witnessing heatwaves, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires and other natural disasters with increasing frequency and intensity. These shocks fall most heavily upon the poor, upon communities with the fewest resources to adapt, and upon those whose livelihoods depend directly upon the land or the forests and the oceans.

It follows that the climate question is not merely an environmental challenge, it is fundamentally a question of justice, human dignity and solidarity between peoples and generations. We cannot respond to these challenges only after disaster has already struck. We need to move from emergency response to prevention, from vulnerability to preparedness, and from short-term measures to a wise and far-sighted vision for humanity.

This calls for a responsible and discerning approach to science that builds resilience: one committed to discovery, while also considering, from the outset, the consequences that scientific and technological choices may have for humanity and for the integrity of creation entrusted to us by God.

Established in 1936, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences is an advisory body whose members include non-Catholics. Its 2026 plenary session, which concludes today, is devoted to “The Future of Science in a Changing World.”

 

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Further information:

• To the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 9/24/26)
• Audience with members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Holy See Press Office, 9/24/26)
• Pope: Climate crisis is not just an environmental challenge, but a matter of justice (Vatican News, 9/24/26)