POLICY · REGULATION · #2829
Pope Leo XIV urges UN to ban lethal autonomous weapons and warns against AI personhood
In a Papal Address, Pope Leo XIV called for AI systems to be “disarmed,” urged United Nations member states to take concrete steps toward banning "lethal autonomous weapons," and warned against granting AI systems rights or legal personhood while insisting on effective human oversight and shared accountability mechanisms.
KEY POINTS
- In a Papal Address, Pope Leo XIV called for AI systems to be “disarmed,” urged United Nations member states to take concrete steps toward banning "lethal autonomous weapons," and warned against granting AI systems rights or legal personhood while insisting on effective human oversight and shared accountability mechanisms.
- The pope's stance frames autonomous weapons and AI personhood as moral and governance issues that could shape international debate and influence calls for regulation and oversight at the UN level.
- Pope Leo calls for the disarmament of AI: ‘Machines are tools, not persons’
WHY IT MATTERS
The pope's stance frames autonomous weapons and AI personhood as moral and governance issues that could shape international debate and influence calls for regulation and oversight at the UN level.