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Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence

Leo XIV (Pope)

Vatican City: Holy See (2026)

"Divided into five chapters, Magnifica humanitas has an underlying premise: technology is not “a force antagonistic to humanity” (paragraph 4), nor is it “inherently evil” (9). However, “technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regu ... late, and use it. Therefore, Pope Leo XIV appeals for people to build “for the common good” and to “remain human,” following a courageous mentality of shared responsibility and communion, so that the world “will come to recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell” (16). [...] An ethical code for AI: The third chapter—Technology and Dominance. The Grandeur of Humanity in Light of the Promises of AI stresses the need to approach artificial intelligence with vigilance. Pope Leo warns about the “technocratic paradigm” already denounced by Pope Francis and how it can require that every choice be dictated exclusively by measuring efficiency and profits (92). On the contrary, the most powerful technology is not necessarily the best. AI can imitate and simulate the person, but it does not possess a moral conscience, empathy, or affective, relational or spiritual capabilities. The Pope urges clarity about responsibilities and accountability at every stage of the development process, focusing on adequate AI policies and legal frameworks, independent oversight, and user education. Above all, Pope Leo calls for an ethical code subject to shared standards of social justice, because “a more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few” (107). Nor, he adds, should the environmental impact of new technologies be overlooked, since they require large quantities of energy and water, affecting Creation (101). Disarming AI: AI must be “disarmed,” Pope Leo XIV continues, in order to free it from the mentality of military, economic, and cognitive competition. “To disarm means discrediting the assumption that technical power automatically confers the right to govern,” he says. “To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity” (110). He devotes ample space to a critique of transhumanism and posthumanism, which interpret progress as the overcoming of human limits. Instead, limitations are not defects to be eliminated, but a constitutive dimension of the human person, because it is in fragility and finitude that relationship and openness to God and to others mature. He says we must remember that “humanity flourishes not despite limitations, but often through them” (118). Technological progress without regression of the heart: Pursuing technological innovation at the expense of eliminating human limitations, he says, would cause an anthropological regression. “Humanity—in all its grandeur and woundedness—must never be replaced or surpassed,” he says. Technology can alleviate humanity’s sufferings and open new possibilities, but it must not deny the essence of humanity, which is our “capacity for relationship and love” (126). In the face of AI, says the Pope, “the true alternative is not between enthusiasm and fear, but between two paths of development: a progress that serves individuals and peoples, or a progress that subjects them to the mentality of power” (129). An ecology of communication and the centrality of schools: In the fourth chapter—Safeguarding Humanity at a Time of Transformation. Truth, Work, Freedom—the Pope calls for an “ecology of communication” based on truth. He urges transparency in how content is selected, protection of personal data, serious journalism founded on argumentation and verification, a new awareness in the “proper and critical” use of digital tools, and the integration of different forms of knowledge. The Church must also embody transparent and honest communication, especially in cases of injustice and abuse. The Pope also appeals for a renewed educational alliance, so that the “desire to ask questions” may not be extinguished in young people by perfect machines that make human thought seem useless (140). Pope Leo XIV, therefore, calls for renewed attention to schools as places where people learn to “seek and love the truth” (147). The dignity of work: In the “fourth industrial revolution” represented by the digital transition, the Pope emphasizes the importance of protecting the dignity of work by designing systems centered on the person and not only on performance. “The ‘new ways’ of working are not necessarily better,” he writes, “while AI promises to boost productivity by taking over mundane tasks, it frequently forces workers to adapt to the speed and demands of machines, rather than machines being designed to support those who work” (150). Technology can certainly free human beings from burdensome or repetitive tasks, but it must not lead to unemployment in the name of reducing costs and increasing profit. In this regard, the Pope expresses his hopes for a renewal of labor organizations (155). Peace and development: Pope Leo then notes the need to move beyond GDP as the measure of a country’s level of development, focusing instead on the dignity of work, shared prosperity, the reduction of inequalities, and environmental protection. Finance, he says, must focus on the development, creation, and evolution of work (159-160). Following in the footsteps of Pope St. Paul VI, the encyclical underscores the interdependence between peace and development. It calls for international cooperation capable of defining shared strategies, especially in favor of the most vulnerable countries and groups, because prosperity contributes to peace “only if it is widespread, inclusive, and sustainable” (163). The family, “primary social good”: The Pope upholds the role of the family, saying it is founded on the stable union between a man and a woman. The family is a “primary social good” and the “fundamental and irreplaceable cell of every community organization” (165), which must be supported, including through labor policies that favor stability and humane rhythms, so as to protect society’s ability to “build the future.” ‘Architecture of visibility’ and risks for freedom: Pope Leo XIV then discusses the theme of human freedom in an age when digital platforms are designed to capture users’ time and exploit their vulnerabilities. He reiterates the need to strengthen each person’s interior freedom, while also confronting the risk of social control arising from the mass collection of data and the use of algorithmic systems. Profiling, predicting, and directing behavior, he says, is “a new form of power” (171) that risks discriminating against the weakest. The Pope particularly criticizes the “architecture of visibility,” which amplifies only what is visible and shapes opinions. New forms of slavery and colonialism: AI also generates new forms of slavery, such as that of the “scarred, injured, and worn down” bodies (173) of those who work in the extraction of the “rare earth elements” needed for technology. Therefore, the Pope upholds the importance of combating new forms of slavery as another “decisive test for ethical discernment” in the digital transformation. Pope Leo XIV stresses that “the Church renews her firm condemnation of every form of slavery, trafficking, and commodification of persons” and he underscores that to not react or to tolerate grave violations of human dignity means becoming accomplices to them. At the same time, the Pope “sincerely asks forgiveness” for the delay with which the Church in the past condemned “the scourge of slavery” (174-176). The encyclical also refers to the vital information—for example, on health and demographics—used to guide economic strategies. He calls this a new face of colonialism that turns personal lives into exploitable information, making the digital environment a “space of exploitation” (178-179). Overcoming ‘just war’ theory: In the fifth chapter—The Culture of Power and the Civilization of Love—Pope Leo XIV turns his gaze to war, saying “the digital revolution is changing the nature of conflict.” The Pope calls for an ethical approach, without which decisions about the life and death of persons will become increasingly impersonal due to a use of force regarded as an “immediate and viable option” (182-183). At the root of all this is a “culture of power” that normalizes war and rehabilitates it as an “instrument of international politics,” favoring rearmament. Today, he says, public opinion is burdened by polarizing media narratives, as well as by “a disconcerting loss of historical memory,” which leaves people without a long-term vision (191). Consequently, he says, peace today is no longer understood as a task to be undertaken, but as an interval between conflicts. For this reason, Pope Leo XIV reiterates that—while preserving the right to legitimate defense in the strictest sense—the theory of “just war” must be overcome, and dialogue, diplomacy, and forgiveness must instead be promoted (192). Algorithms do not make war morally acceptable: Pope Leo expresses criticism of the growth in the arms industry, the nuclear arms race, and the emergence of new armed actors—including jihadist groups—who aim to perpetuate conflicts as a source of power and profit. He also warns against the use of weapons linked to AI, because “there is no algorithm that can make war morally acceptable.” The Pope writes, “AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed, it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data. In this way, it will accustom us to the idea that violence is inevitable and needs only to be optimized.” The Pope urges strict ethical limits, which are shared at the international level and based on personal responsibility and the protection of civilians. “Any technology that facilitates attacks without seeing the face of human beings lowers the moral threshold of conflict” (199). Crisis of multilateralism: The culture of power also emerges from the crisis of multilateralism and the emergence of “a disorderly and conflict-ridden multipolarism” with a prevailing sense of mistrust (201). The Pope laments that the rule of law has been replaced by the law of the strongest, while the logic of power prevails over peace building and institutions established to safeguard the common destiny of peoples have now been weakened. In this regard, the Pope hopes for “profound reforms” of the UN that can overcome the current crisis of values in favor of the common good (226). An irresponsible Realpolitik: The encyclical notes that today “hybrid” wars are fought “also on the economic, financial and cyber fronts, where disinformation and campaigns that feed people’s fears are used to manipulate public opinion” so that increases in military expenditures are seen as the “only response” to an uncertain future. But all of this is only a “false realism”, an irresponsible Realpolitik that sows in people’s consciences and cultures a resignation to an unavoidable war and describes peace as a utopia (204-205). He notes that there is the possibility that some “may consider armed conflict as an effective way of diverting attention from domestic problems and a cynical tool for managing difficulties (208). The civilization of love: Christians, says Pope Leo, are called to respond to the culture of power by building “the civilization of love” and by choosing whether to feed the logic of force or safeguard peace. He recalls the memory of the saints, “righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good” (211). The Pope indicates five paths of responsibility, which include disarming words by speaking the truth; building peace in justice; adopting the perspective of victims by taking a stand, because there are conflicts in which “it is unjust to remain neutral”; cultivating “a healthy realism” that seeks practicable paths of peace through deeds, not only words. Importance of interreligious dialogue: Finally, relaunching dialogue by moving from a culture of power to a culture of negotiation is highlighted. And of decisive importance is “interreligious dialogue”, being bearers of a message of peace. He writes that “those who use the name of God to legitimize terrorism, violence or war betray his true nature, for to fight in the name of religion means attacking religion itself” (223). The diplomacy of the Holy See, he notes, “adopts the Gospel’s principle of mercy as a concrete criterion for political action.” And from this, the exhortation to prayer, since peace comes above all from God (227-228)." (https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.html) more

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Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, Volume 3

Stuart Allan, Einar Thorsen (eds.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2026), xii, 372 pp.

"This third volume of Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives seeks to build upon the agenda set in motion by the first and second volumes, namely by: 1) offering an overview of key developments in citizen journalism since 2014, including the use of social media in crisis reporting; 2) providing a n ... more

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Digital Dimensions of Conflict: Analyzing Malian conflict and violence through Social Media and Mixed-Methods Approach

Jelena Prokic, Luca Bruls, Mirjam de Bruijn

Digital Culture and Society, volume 11, issue 2 (2026), pp. 199-222

"Our findings show that Twitter is a battlefield of imaginaries of conflict. Ford and Hoskins (2022: 117-68) would refer to this as ‘attention’ in which the war is archived, defined, and imagined. People who participate in conflict-Twitter are no longer passive actors in conflict, but they shape ... it by their online behavior. Although many users rarely initiate debates or engage in discussions, they shape the content’s visibility and interpretation through what they tweet, retweet, and amplify. As such attention itself becomes a form of involvement. Meanwhile, Twitter users who create messages focus on certain parts or layers of conflict. Hence, those who click, read, and retweet endorse these imaginations or representations of war. Tracing digital war on Twitter revealed 4 clusters of imaginaries: 1. National politics referring to the role of the French, the arrival of the Russians, and the government’s events and celebrations. 2. International politics that discuss ECOWAS sanctions, the role of France, Russia, the European Union and MINUSMA, reference to news agencies RFI and France 24, as well as a discussion of Ukraine. 3. The economic and security situation which affect the population. 4. The local violence that results in massacres, killings, the role of jihadist groups, framed as ‘terrorists’. Imaginaries 1 and 2 are most prominent. The tweets on politics have a supportive tone for the actions of the government. They are anti-French and supportive of Russia. Imaginary 3 popped up especially in the frequency and keyword analysis. The crisis related to national politics, under IBK and later under Assimi Goïta, is a consequence of the political and economic situation of Mali that the population immediately feel in their daily life. Imaginary 4 occupies a small space in Twitter discussions. Twitter users hardly discuss the horrific atrocities of the conflict. We conclude that Twitter discursive practice generally has a positive attitude towards the military government and is supportive of its measures. Twitter does show popular reasons for protest, which addresses the economic situation in daily life and the ‘hatred’ of the French military interventions. However, Twitter users hardly discuss violence against civilians, which we as ethnographers considered as important events in the conflict. Hence these events do not enter the general Twitter discourse on conflict. Twitter creates an imagination of the war in which extremely violent events are avoided. As a result, Twitter informs the public on the heroic actions of the Malian army and legitimizes the government as a righteous actor in the conflict. Due to the selective framing and circulation of content that celebrates the violent state on Twitter, cultural violence and participatory warfare emerge. Users participate not through debating or addressing massacres against civilians, but by amplifying political and geopolitical narratives through tweeting and retweeting. They thereby normalize a pro-government imagination of war. Malians read and participate in Twitter to find news about the situation in their country. They ‘trust’ Twitter. For many it is one of the only reliable media where they can find information about conflict, or about the political situation in the country. This comes close to Galtung’s definition of cultural violence, information that legitimizes actions of the government and military, or information that feeds biased interpretations. Twitter helps them to legitimize the protests and the actions of the government. The silencing of massacres and violence also influences people’s opinions as they do not ‘see’ the horrors of the conflict. Hence, Twitter operates as a medium through which digital cultural violence is produced and transmitted." (Discussion and Conclusion, pages 218-219) more

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Media and Mass Atrocity Prevention: Three Pathways of Potential Influence

Chiara De Franco, Christoph O. Meyer

Global Responsibility to Protect, volume 17 (2025), pp. 288 - 319

"This article critically examines the media’s complex role in both facilitating and obstructing the prevention of mass atrocities, identifying three key pathways of influence: structural prevention, operational prevention, and crisis response. It addresses a gap in existing research, which has pri ... more

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‘So, we have occupied TikTok’: Ukrainian women in #ParticipativeWar

Øyvind Kalnes, Nina M. Bjørge

Media, War & Conflict (2025), 18 pp.

"This study discusses the use of TikTok during the war that began with the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022. TikTok has been the fastest growing social media channel and is known for its young user base. Although associated with lifestyle and light entertainment, it also become an importan ... more

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The Handbook of Conflict and Peace Communication
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Sudeshna Roy (ed.)

Hoboken; Chichester: Wiley Blackwell (2025), xxvi, 430 pp.

"This book offers an in-depth view of how intricate and intractable conflicts can be and how the communicative aspects of conflict are equally challenging. The author reviews and guides readers through classic and contemporary analysis in the field, providing a truly interdisciplinary work. Handbook ... more

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Digital Warfare: Media and Technologies in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Nadiya Ivanenko, Nadia Zasanska (eds.)

Bielefeld: transcript Verlag (2025), 366 pp.

"Digital media and technologies remain unpredictable when we approach them as actors in armed conflicts. Artificial intelligence, drones, information leaks, hacking, propaganda and fakes become part of war reality. The contributors to this volume prompt us to focus on the virtual fronts of the Russo ... more

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Peace is possible: The role of strategic narratives in peacebuilding

Tiffany Fairey

Media, War & Conflict, volume 17, issue 1 (2024), pp. 1-20

"In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), scholars and practitioners often cite the lack of shared narrative as a primary challenge to long-term peace. A study of the multi-ethnic, collaborative story-telling work of the Post Conflict Research Centre (PCRC), a Bosnian peacebuilding organization, however, te ... more

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Exploring the Use of #MyAnglophoneCrisisStory on Twitter to Understand the Impacts of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis

Soomin Lee, Lynn Cockburn, Julius T. Nganji

Media, War & Conflict, volume 16, issue 3 (2023), pp. 418-439

"Since October 2016, Cameroon has been involved in a violent conflict known as the Anglophone Crisis. This study examines the impact of the hashtag #MyAnglophoneCrisisStory on Twitter in capturing and amplifying the stories of people affected by the crisis. Using R, the authors extracted and analyze ... more

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Social Media 4 Peace: Taking Stock of Progress Achieved

Brussels: UNESCO Office Brussels (2023), 3 pp.

"Increased understanding of the root causes, scale, and impact of online harmful content and the effectiveness of the existing frameworks and tools: 10 research reports examining the national legal frameworks governing harmful content [...] Local stakeholders empowered and new cooperation and practi ... more

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Humour as a Strategic Tool Against Disinformation: Ukraine’s Response to Russia

Olga Tokariuk

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2023), 35 pp.

"Ukraine has been building its capacity to use humour as a strategic communications tool since Russian first invasion in 2014. After Russia launched the full-scale war in February 2022, this often grassroots effort was multiplied by many new actors joining it. Foreign supporters of Ukraine stepped i ... more

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Digital Warfare and Peace: Learning from Ukraine’s Response to the Russian Invasion

Anna Romandash

Tokyo: Toda Peace Institute (2023), 15 pp.

"Before launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia had maintained a low-scale war with Ukraine since early 2014. That conflict, which culminated in the annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the ongoing Donbas war, received less international attention than the 2022 ful ... more

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Forensic Conflict Studies: Making Sense of War in the Social Media Age

Jakob Hauter

Media, War & Conflict, volume 16, issue 2 (2023), pp. 153-172

"Online media is a blessing and a curse for academic research on war. On the one hand, the internet provides unprecedented access to information from conflict zones. On the other hand, the prevalence of disinformation can make it difficult to use this information in a transparent way. This article p ... more

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Conflit et espace en ligne au Sahel : Défis et recommandations

Jiaxuan Yue, Habibou Bako, Kelsey Hampton, Katie Smith

Brussels: Search for Common Ground (2022), 6 pp.

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Social Media and the Information War in the Balkans

Brussels: Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI) (2022), 52 pp.

"This report examines the destabilizing effects of social media in two key places in the Balkans: Serbia and Republika Srpska, the majority Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The leaders of both – President Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia and President Milorad Dodik in Republika Srpska – ar ... more

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Ukrainekrieg auf Telegram: Rechtsextremer Knotenpunkt für Desinformationen und Verschwörungserzählungen

Mainz: jugendschutz.net (2022), 9 pp.

"Seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs gegen die Ukraine im Februar 2022 nutzen Rechtsextreme die Ereignisse und Entwicklungen für ihre Propaganda. Dabei lassen sich sowohl pro-ukrainische als auch prorussische Positionierungen beobachten. Insbesondere werden gezielt Desinformationen und Versch ... more

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Discussing Conflict in Social Media: The Use of Twitter in the Jammu and Kashmir Conflict

Sabrina Gabel, Lilian Reichert, Christian Reuter

Media, War & Conflict, volume 15, issue 4 (2022), pp. 504-529

"This article conducts a qualitative content analysis of content on Twitter concerning the conflict in the Jammu and Kashmir region. The tweets following the death of a popular militant, Burhan Wani, cover three different themes: (1) criticism of intellectuals; (2) Burhan Wani’s impact on the conf ... more

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Social Media Discourse in Malaysia on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Rationales for Pro-Russia Sentiments

Benjamin Y. H. Loh, Munira Mustaffa

Perspective (ISEAS), issue 41 (2022), 11 pp.

"In late February 2022, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine which sent shockwaves around the world. As the world responded with sanctions against Russia, Moscow increased its public relations campaign to justify its invasion and recast the narrative in the media and on the inter ... more

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Pretending to be States: The Use of Facebook by Armed Groups in Myanmar

Stein Tønnesson, Min Zaw Oo, Ne Lynn Aung

Journal of Contemporary Asia, volume 52, issue 2 (2022), pp. 200-225

"Which functions do social media fill for non-state armed groups in countries with internal armed conflict? Building on conflict data, interviews and media monitoring, we have reviewed the use of social media by Myanmar’s nine most powerful armed groups. The first finding is that they act like sta ... more

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Understanding Digital Conflict Drivers

Helena Puig Larrauri, Maude Morrison

In: Fundamental Challenges to Global Peace and Security

H. Mahmoudi et al. (eds.)

Cham: Springer (2022), pp. 169-200

"This chapter explores digital drivers of conflict. We examine how technologies are affecting conflict dynamics and what peacebuilders can do to mitigate these effects. We argue that because digital technologies are fundamentally altering the human experience, they are by extension fundamentally alt ... more

The Handbook of Conflict and Peace Communication Deep Insights

The Handbook of Conflict and Peace Communication
Deep Insights