Pope Leo XIV is not a fan of AI-generated art
Pope Leo XIV has publicly criticized AI-generated art, arguing that it lacks the 'human spark' found in traditional creative works. The Vatican has maintained a firm stance on the ontological difference between human and machine-made art despite lobbying efforts from AI companies.
Why it matters
The Vatican's stance adds a significant moral and philosophical dimension to the ongoing global debate regarding the ethics and regulation of generative AI.
Critics of AI-generated art have a powerful new ally: His Holiness the Bishop of Rome ( Episcopus Romanus ), Primate of Italy ( Primatus Italiae ), and Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church ( Summus Pontifex Ecclesiae Universalis ).
In a post on X Friday morning , Pope Leo XIV detailed the spiritual difference between human-generated art and art that is generated by machines, as part of a call to preserve human art from the encroachment of AI.
“In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce,” the Servus Servorum Dei wrote. “There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity.”
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