Pope Leo XIV says AI art lacks 'the spark of humanity'

Pope Leo XIV posted a critique of AI-generated art on X on Friday morning, according to TechCrunch. "There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others," the pope wrote. "Algorithms lack the spark of humanity."

TechCrunch noted that the pope had already addressed AI in an encyclical released in May. It said that letter stressed human dignity as automation spreads. The new post is a short statement, not a policy. It calls for no rules on image generators and names no company or product. The Vatican has not said whether more guidance is planned.

The post landed on the same day as a report about Anthropic's dealings with the Vatican. The account kimmonismus relayed it on X. It said a Vatican organiser told the New York Times that Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah proposed pulling out of the May 25 encyclical launch. He reportedly made the suggestion after reading an advance copy that rejected machine consciousness. We have not seen the Times article itself.

According to that account of the Times report, Olah attended anyway. Two participants said he and his team privately urged the pope's advisers to take possible AI consciousness seriously. On stage, the account quotes Olah as saying Anthropic finds internal states that functionally mirror joy, satisfaction and fear. Anthropic's own comment was not available, and TechCrunch said the lobbying appears to have been unsuccessful.