In an era where artificial intelligence is becoming ubiquitous, Pope Leo XIV has emerged as a prominent voice addressing its implications. His recent encyclical, Magnifica humanitas or Magnificent humanity outlines the Catholic Church’s response to the AI era, drawing from a rich tradition of social teaching.
The pope’s stance on AI is not merely a reaction to contemporary technology but a continuation of principles that have guided the Church for nearly a century. At the heart of this teaching is the concept of subsidiarity which advocates for decision-making at the closest level possible to those affected.
Historical Roots of Subsidiarity
The concept of subsidiarity has deep roots in Catholic social teaching, extending back to the 13th century with the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. However, it was Pope Pius XI who formalized the idea in his 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo anno or In the 40th year.
Pius XI’s encyclical was a response to the Industrial Revolution, which had led to the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few. He advocated for a restructuring of societies to prevent this monopolization, emphasizing fair wages, workers’ participation in decision-making, and support for small- and medium-sized businesses.
The Influence of Quadragesimo Anno
The principles outlined in Quadragesimo anno resonated beyond the Catholic Church. In the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt embraced the encyclical’s call for subsidiarity during his 1932 presidential campaign. He quoted Pius XI’s words, rejecting a world where immense power and economic domination were concentrated in the hands of a few. These views trickled into his New Deal policies, although Roosevelt himself belonged to the Episcopal Church.
In Europe, political parties affiliated with the Christian democracy movement incorporated subsidiarity as a major plank of their platforms. This historical context is crucial for understanding Pope Leo XIV’s approach to AI.
AI and the Modern Application of Subsidiarity
In recent years, the Vatican has continued to develop the idea of subsidiarity in response to the rise of AI and the concentration of power in Silicon Valley. Toward the end of his papacy, Pope Francis expressed concerns about AI’s influence on social relationships and human identity.
The Vatican’s department of culture and education convened a group of scholars to discuss AI’s impact. The book they published in 2026 sees subsidiarity as a way for people on the margins of society to shape AI instead of being harmed by it. AI labs frequently fail to account for the needs of customers with disabilities and train their systems with massive datasets organized and annotated by low-paid workers in the developing world.
Promoting Human Dignity
The book also argues that subsidiarity can decrease the threat of moral deskilling, where reliance on chatbots degrades our own decision-making. For example, a chatbot could be configured to not provide guidance if users ask it to make decisions about their personal relationships.
Similar ideas were incorporated into the Vatican document Antiqua et nova or Ancient and new issued in 2026. This document condemns the monopolization of AI by powerful corporations and recommends that everyday users, nonprofits, governments, and international organizations have a voice in creating technology that promotes human dignity and the common good.
Practical Implications of Subsidiarity in AI
In a practical sense, what does subsidiarity look like in the context of AI? Some AI startups, such as the Catholic company Longbeard, align their values with particular faith communities. Truly open-source AI projects could give users transparent and reconfigurable access to the technology. For example, a parent could turn off the platform’s ability to do a child’s homework or to generate sexually suggestive imagery.
Faith leaders and computer scientists, including my own team, are developing frameworks for how software engineering and product design could be guided by subsidiarity. Developing AI products typically involves harvesting training data by pervasively monitoring users, which many people are unaware is occurring. However, it’s possible to train platforms in less invasive ways that give users more control, such as by using only information in the public domain or Creative Commons data.
These efforts highlight how subsidiarity could give more people a voice in a world that AI is rapidly changing. Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas is the most recent attempt to reconcile AI systems with Catholic social teaching, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and meaningful forms of participation.
