Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas presents Artificial Intelligence as a defining test of human values rather than a neutral technological shift. Centering on the warning that “Technology is never neutral,” it argues that society faces a choice between a Babel-like pursuit of unchecked growth and a more collaborative rebuilding of common humanity. The contrast is drawn through biblical images of the Tower of Babel, associated with atomization and failure, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem in Nehemiah, where shared responsibility restores both relationships and civic life.
The document rejects the idea that Artificial Intelligence is an inevitable force beyond human control. Instead, it treats Artificial Intelligence as a commercial product emerging in a period when power over commerce and society is concentrated in very few hands. That framing connects the technology directly to questions of governance, accountability, and moral responsibility. It also underscores a broader concern that public institutions have not kept pace with deployment. There is no Artificial Intelligence safety board. The US Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over unfair practices but limited authority over algorithmic design. The National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes guidance that most companies ignore. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act is partially in force but addresses only a sliver of the deployment surface.
In that vacuum, institutional investors are described as a key force pressing companies to govern Artificial Intelligence more responsibly. Coalitions including the membership of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, representing investors managing over ? billion in assets, have spent the past several proxy seasons filing resolutions demanding transparency, risk assessment, and accountability around Artificial Intelligence deployment. Shareholders have challenged companies including Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Palantir, Uber, CVS, UnitedHealth Group, Meta, Microsoft, Disney, Netflix, and Warner Bros. over issues ranging from human rights and health care to environmental costs and the protection of human creativity.
The examples cited portray Artificial Intelligence governance as a live issue across multiple sectors. Shareholders have called tech giants including Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Palantir, and Uber to account and demanded that Artificial Intelligence not be used for acts of violence or other violations of human rights. Investors have also challenged executives at CVS and UnitedHealth Group to ensure that Artificial Intelligence not be used to undermine the well-being of patients and quality of health care across the United States. At companies including Meta and Microsoft, shareholders have decried the environmental impact of Artificial Intelligence data centers, which consume vast amounts of energy and precious water resources, and in turn can emit large amounts of greenhouse gases.
The encyclical’s central message is that oversight of Artificial Intelligence is a civic and ethical duty, not only a technical or commercial matter. It presents broad-based action by people of different backgrounds, including faith-based and secular investors, as evidence that society can still shape the direction of the technology. Its call is for clear criteria, effective oversight, and a form of solidarity that places human dignity, public goods, and fundamental rights at the center of how Artificial Intelligence is built and used.