Gary Marcus reports from the Vatican: Pope Leo XIV's five points on AI
GaryMarcus · x · 2026-10-31
Gary Marcus reports on meeting Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, calling him "by far the clearest thinker on AI among prominent world leaders" and praising the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.
The Pope's speech centered on five points Marcus fully endorses:
- AI's future is not predetermined — it depends on human choices; the key question is not "What can AI do?" but "What purpose should it serve?" Treating development purely as a race risks forgetting those left behind.
- Machines are tools, not persons — AI systems lack experience, bodies, and understanding of love, work, or responsibility; granting them legal personhood risks obscuring human responsibility.
- Certain decisions must never be delegated — such as placing a person on a target list (the excerpt cuts off here).
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