Family Discussion: Pope Leo vs. AI
The following article is designed to help parents dialogue about a current event with their children. It was written at a 7th grade reading level.
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The Pope has (lots) to say about AI.
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV (that’s “14th” for the non-Roman among us) released a 42,300-word encyclical (a big essay about the Catholic Church’s views on an important topic). He called it “Magnifica Humanitas,” or “Magnificent Humanity.” It focused on humanity’s unique “capacity for relationship and love” in the AI era.
Leo compared AI to the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11. Back then, humans tried to prove their power by building a tower to reach heaven and make themselves like God. The Pope asked AI companies to avoid making another Babel Tower. Instead, they should build up the “common good.”
Monday’s release date was purposeful because 135 years earlier, the previous Pope Leo (Leo XIII) wrote an encyclical on workers’ dignity during the Industrial Revolution. Machines were replacing people in factories, working conditions worsened, and family life changed. The latest Leo thinks history is repeating and sees a need to:
Protect human dignity as machines take over jobs.
Retrain workers displaced by AI.
Ensure humans—not machines—keep control of weapons systems.
Protect children from digital addiction, bullying, and harmful AI content.
What do AI companies think? Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic (one of the world’s biggest AI companies), spoke before the pope’s speech at the Vatican. He praised the pope’s ideas and said AI companies need “moral voices” to help value people over profits.
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
As the world debates AI, it’s a good moment for personal reflection on technology’s effect on our lives, relationships, and habits. Whatever tools we use, we should use them wisely and in ways that increase the fruit of the Spirit in us.
REFLECT
Ask your kids what they think about AI and the pope’s papers.
Begin the conversation with some questions.
Have your kids used AI? What for?
What do they like about it? What do they dislike?
What makes them nervous about it? Excited?
What do they think parents or teachers misunderstand about kids and AI?
What do I want to make sure my kids (and I) know in light of this story?
AI makes (usually) correct, compelling information available in the blink of an eye. Those outputs have great uses… but when we make a habit of going to bots, there are side effects. A big one is that we start to value outcomes more than the often challenging process of getting there. It’s in that process that we grow, learn, and build character (James 1:2–5; Romans 5:3–4).
AI reduces life to a sum of outputs. Are we guilty of doing the same thing as parents?
It’s easy to focus on the outcomes of our kids’ lives: quick obedience, good grades, sports successes, etc. But we are called to make disciples of our kids, which means that their character and growth are more important than the outcomes they’re producing.
RESPOND
Audit your family’s (or classroom’s) use of AI. What are your habits? Is the technology serving you, or are you serving it? Does anything need to change? Sharing your own experience with technology’s pros and cons could open the door for great dialogue.
Memorize James 1:2–4, “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (CSB).
Pray for good AI habits in your home and in our world: God of Wisdom, as our world progresses with new power and opportunities from artificial intelligence, we ask You for wisdom. Give it to leaders, executives, and elected officials to discern how technology can advance flourishing. Give wisdom to individuals, families, and churches when to use—and when not to used—these new tools. And may we always trust You as our ultimate source of wisdom. Amen.
Credit: Decaf (The Pour Over for Families). "Pope Leo vs AI." May 28, 2026.