A few major tech players have control over key platforms, infrastructure, data and compute, which risks reducing public oversight and generating new kinds of inequality, Pope Leo XIV said in his first encyclical, titled “Magnifica Humanitas.” He called for the world to prevent technology from “dominating humanity,” by rejecting an AI arms race “driven by the desire to secure geopolitical or commercial dominance.” (The Logic)

Talking point: The Pope’s intervention goes beyond the contest raging in the U.S., Europe and other major markets about whether, and how, to govern the development and use of AI. “Merely regulating it is insufficient; it must be disarmed, welcoming and accessible,” he said. He also weighed in on specific points of debate, saying that “hidden, often exploited” workers drive the advance of algorithms and opposing letting AI make lethal decisions. The Vatican’s encyclical event also featured Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, a Canadian computer scientist; his firm has clashed with the Trump administration over its advocacy for AI regulation and attempt to limit how the Pentagon can use its technology.