Pope Leo XIV has issued a call to the global AI industry, urging developers and tech leaders to prioritize moral discernment in the creation of artificial intelligence. The first American pope, who assumed leadership of the Catholic Church in May, addressed AI leaders in a post on X, following a message he sent to participants at the Builders AI Forum 2025. The forum, focused on building AI tools that align with the Church’s values, brings together technologists, ethicists, and faith-based thinkers. In his X post, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that technological innovation is not just a technical pursuit but a form of participation in the divine act of creation. “Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation. It carries an ethical and spiritual weight, for every design choice expresses a vision of humanity,” he wrote. He called on AI builders to integrate moral discernment as a core component of their work, ensuring that systems reflect justice, solidarity, and a deep reverence for human life. In his message to the forum, the pope stressed that AI development must go beyond research labs and financial returns. “It must be a profoundly ecclesial endeavor,” he said. Whether designing AI for Catholic education, compassionate healthcare, or creative platforms that convey the Christian story with truth and beauty, he argued, each project contributes to a shared mission: to use technology in service of evangelization and the full development of every person. The pope’s remarks come amid a global race to advance AI, with major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta investing heavily, and startups such as Anthropic and OpenAI driving innovation with tools like Claude and ChatGPT. While AI is transforming industries and daily life, concerns are growing about its societal impact—ranging from job displacement and economic disruption to potential threats to human dignity and autonomy. Since becoming pope, Leo XIV has consistently highlighted the ethical challenges posed by AI. In a speech to the College of Cardinals in May, he warned that the technology presents new risks to human dignity, justice, and labor. “In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice, and labor,” he said. His message marks a clear effort to position the Catholic Church as a moral voice in the AI era, urging the tech world to build not just smarter systems, but more humane ones.