Artificial intelligence has a place in spiritual life, but don't let it replace your own thinking—and definitely don't use it to cheat on your homework. That's the message Pope Leo XIV recently delivered to a group of American students during a virtual meet-and-greet.
"Using AI responsibly means using it in ways that help you grow, never in ways that distract you from your dignity or your call to holiness," the pontiff told the students.
The pope pointed to Saint Carlo Acutis, the first millennial Catholic saint nicknamed "God's influencer," as a model for how young Catholics should approach technology. Acutis managed to build a significant online presence while maintaining spiritual priorities through deliberate digital discipline.
"He even set time limits for himself, allowing only a certain amount of time each week for leisure on his electronic devices," Pope Leo said. "Because of this discipline, he found a healthy balance and kept his priorities clear."
What AI Can't Do
Pope Leo emphasized that artificial intelligence has inherent limitations, particularly when it comes to moral reasoning. While AI can process vast amounts of information at incredible speeds, it fundamentally cannot handle tasks requiring ethical judgment.
"There are some things AI can't do, such as judging between what is truly right and wrong," he told the students. "And don't ask it to do your homework for you."
The Church's Broader AI Vision
This wasn't Pope Leo's first commentary on artificial intelligence. Last month, he posted on X urging industry leaders to "cultivate moral discernment as a fundamental part of their work."
"Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation," he wrote. "It carries an ethical and spiritual weight, for every design choice expresses a vision of humanity."
The artificial intelligence revolution actually influenced why the first American pontiff chose his papal name. Pope Leo XIII, who led the Church for 25 years until 1903, spent much of his papacy addressing social questions raised by the Industrial Revolution.
"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," Pope Leo XIV told the College of Cardinals earlier this year.
The message seems clear: technology can be a tool for good, including spiritual growth, but it requires intentionality, boundaries, and a clear understanding of what human judgment brings that algorithms cannot replicate.
