Pope Leo XIV says AI agents are tools, not persons

Pope Leo XIV warned Friday against giving artificial intelligence agents legal personhood or rights, saying responsibility for their actions should remain with human creators.

“Machines are tools, not persons,” he told international AI experts at the Vatican during a dialogue on the technology's future and the duties of scientists and public institutions.

Leo said some proposals to give AI systems rights or legal personhood risked obscuring human responsibility and leaving people harmed by the technology facing “a faceless entity.”

The pope said the future of artificial intelligence “is not pre-determined” and that people have a responsibility to guide, change and, when necessary, reject its uses.

He said decisions affecting human life, freedom and the use of force must remain under effective, informed and responsible human oversight. He also repeated his call for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons.

Leo called for shared standards, independent oversight and clear accountability mechanisms so decisions on AI development and use can be examined, challenged and accompanied by remedies for harm.