Pope Leo XIV urges UN to ban lethal autonomous weapons

In short: Pope Leo XIV called for AI to be “disarmed” and urged United Nations member states to move toward banning lethal autonomous weapons.

What happened

Pope Leo XIV delivered a papal address on Friday that focused on how artificial intelligence, or AI (computer systems that can perform tasks that normally need human judgment), should be used and controlled.

He said AI systems should be “disarmed,” and that people have a responsibility to guide AI, change it, and reject certain uses when needed. He also told UN member states to “take concrete steps toward banning lethal autonomous weapons” at a UN meeting in Geneva next month.

Lethal autonomous weapons are weapons that can select and attack targets on their own, without a human making the final decision. You can think of it like removing the driver from a car and still letting it decide where to go and when to crash into something, except the stakes involve human lives.

The pope also warned against treating AI like a person. He said, “Machines are tools, not persons,” and argued that decisions involving human life, freedom, and the use of force must stay under “effective, informed, and responsible human oversight.”

Why it matters

AI is increasingly used in areas where mistakes can cause real harm, including war and policing. The pope is adding a high-profile voice to a growing debate over whether countries should allow weapons that can kill without a direct human decision, and how global rules and accountability should work when AI is involved.

Source: The Verge AI