Pope Leo XIV on Monday warned concerns about artificial intelligence "should be taken seriously" but added he was not in "panic mode". "If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode? No, I'm not. I sleep at night," he told reporters at a press conference on the plane returning from his visit to France, referring to concerns about AI. The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics was returning to the Vatican after a four-day trip where he has been greeted by crowds. The visit comes seven months before French voters choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, with the Eurosceptic, anti-immigration far-right seeking power. During his visit, the US pontiff repeatedly warned about the need to safeguard humanity against AI. "If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment," he said. The debate over the risks of the technology has intensified in recent months, fueled by several incidents and apocalyptic warnings from industry professionals. On the plane on Monday, the pope said the warnings were not "fake news, as some have said, to try and cause whether financial or some other kind of benefit". "This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about," he said, adding: "To simply say 'Oh, it's not going to happen' and close our eyes to it, I think is probably not the most responsible way to go about that". The Vatican has in recent months stepped up its rhetoric and initiatives in support of international AI governance, particularly in the fields of nuclear technology, culture and artistic creation.
