05/27/26

Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI, and the Vatican science advisors

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV presented his encyclical, an open letter from the church, on AI. The 42,000-word document covers a lot of terrain—from screen time to resource extraction to job loss, but the core message is summed up in the title: “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding The Human Person In The Time Of Artificial Intelligence.”

How did the Pope arrive at these views? Among those advising him on AI and other matters are scientists: members of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with one of those members, anthropologist Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, about the encyclical and what it’s like to advise the Pope.


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Segment Guests

Marcelo Suárez-Orozco

Dr. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco is an anthropologist and chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Segment Transcript

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