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Pope Leo XIV says he refused a request to create an AI version of him that would answer users seeking a virtual audience. The proposal was not an announced Vatican project: it was a request for permission, and the pope said no.
What was the proposed AI pope?
In an interview, Leo said someone had asked for authorization to create an “artificial me” on a website, where users could sign on for a personal audience with “the pope.” The AI would respond to their questions. He did not authorize it. Catholic News Service reported his account on September 23, 2025.
The report does not identify the requester, website, vendor, or how the proposed system would have been built. It therefore does not establish that the Vatican was developing or preparing to launch a virtual pope.
Why did Pope Leo object?
An avatar could blur identity and truth
Leo said, “If there’s anybody who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the pope is high on the list.” His objection was not simply to a digital likeness: a system presented as the pope could make it harder for users to tell who—or what—is speaking in his name.
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He warned that “the digital world will go on its own way, and we will become pawns, or left by the wayside.” The interview did not describe a proposed system’s safeguards or explain how it would label or verify its answers, so the specific risks of that design are unknown.
Faith and pastoral encounters involve people
Leo tied his concern to relationships and religious life: “Our human life makes sense not because of artificial intelligence, but because of human beings and encounter, being with one another, creating relationships, and discovering in those human relationships also the presence of God.” He also said, “It’s going to be very difficult to discover the presence of God in AI.”
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A virtual system could make answers available at scale, but the interview did not establish whether it would offer pastoral advice, how such advice would be overseen, or how user conversations and personal data would be handled. Those questions cannot be answered from the published account.
He also raised human dignity and work
The coverage connects Leo’s broader concerns about AI with human dignity and employment. His remarks frame the issue as more than whether software can imitate a voice or appearance: what matters is the effect of AI on people, relationships, and work. Vatican News covered his comments on AI and human dignity.
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Where did the remarks come from?
Elise Ann Allen interviewed Leo on July 30, 2025. The interview became the final chapter of her biography, Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century, published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on September 18, 2025. Catholic coverage of the remarks appeared around September 18–20, followed by the Catholic News Service report on September 23. Catholic News Service described the interview’s place in the biography.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to understand the proposal
Leo’s refusal is a documented response to a request, not evidence that a virtual-pontiff service existed or that the Vatican planned one. The account supports a clear distinction: an AI could be designed to simulate a conversation, but that would not make it the pope or a human pastoral encounter. The published reporting gives no basis for claims about a launch, technical capabilities, public demand, or measured effects.
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