In an era when artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming every aspect of human life—from healthcare to governance, entertainment to employment—the Vatican has stepped forward with a robust ethical framework rooted in Catholic teaching. Promulgated by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, the Linee Guida in Materia di Intelligenza Artificiale (Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence) challenge both secular and faith-based institutions to consider: How can we ensure that AI serves humanity without compromising our deepest values?
These guidelines, now in effect, present a bold vision: technology as a co-creative endeavor with God, one that preserves human dignity, protects the common good, and stewards creation. They remind us that while AI may enhance human capabilities, it can never replace human creativity, autonomy, or moral responsibility.
The Vatican’s guidelines begin by acknowledging that technology, a product of human creativity, is a gift from God. Innovations like AI have alleviated countless human sufferings, from medical diagnostics to disaster response. However, this potential is matched by parallel risks. Left unchecked, AI can perpetuate discrimination, manipulate vulnerable populations, and even erode the autonomy that makes us truly human.
The Church’s response to these challenges is grounded in its long tradition of upholding human dignity. Drawing inspiration from Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, the Vatican frames AI ethics not merely as a technical problem but as a spiritual and moral imperative.1 At the heart of the guidelines are fundamental principles that ensure AI development remains anthropocentric—centered on the human person—and aligned with the common good:
1. Human Dignity: AI must serve humanity, respecting the unique and irreplaceable dignity of every individual. This principle prohibits using AI to exploit, manipulate, or exclude, such as systems that perpetuate biases or degrade human autonomy.
2. Transparency and Accountability: The Vatican mandates that AI systems operate transparently and are subject to ethical oversight. For example, all AI-generated content must be clearly labeled, ensuring users can distinguish between human and machine contributions.
3. Stewardship of Creation: The guidelines, grounded in Laudato Si’, emphasize environmental stewardship. AI systems should not only avoid harm but actively contribute to caring for creation, prioritizing long-term ecological health over short-term profit.
4. The Common Good: AI must benefit all, particularly the marginalized, rather than serve the interests of a privileged few. The guidelines advocate for equal access to AI applications to ensure that technology does not deepen existing social inequalities.
The document defines AI as “a gift of human creativity, which itself is a gift from God.” However, it warns that unchecked technological advancements could lead to risks such as subliminal manipulation, discrimination, and harm to vulnerable populations. This anthropocentric focus contrasts with the European Union’s Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, which also emphasizes human-centric design but frames it primarily in terms of protecting democratic rights and individual autonomy. That being said, the Vatican guidelines not only delimit the practices to be aimed for but also draw clear ethical boundaries, banning practices that violate Catholic teachings and universal principles of justice. The Vatican explicitly forbids AI applications that:
- Discriminate or perpetuate inequalities
- Harm individuals physically or psychologically through manipulation
- Exclude people with disabilities or violate human dignity
While the European Union (EU) similarly prohibits discriminatory AI, the Vatican’s approach uniquely ties these prohibitions to theological principles—thus objectively grounding them—emphasizing that any use of AI must align with the Church’s mission and protect its integrity.
Ethical Oversight and Responsibility
But how can all this be put into practice? The guidelines place ethical oversight at the heart of AI governance by establishing an AI commission responsible for monitoring compliance, evaluating risks, and maintaining transparency. While this mirrors the EU’s emphasis on accountability, the Vatican’s framing extends beyond legal or societal dimensions, emphasizing oversight as a moral and spiritual duty, reflecting the Church’s mission to uphold human dignity and the common good through technology.
For instance, in Vatican healthcare applications, the guidelines mandate that patients be explicitly informed about the role of AI in their care, ensuring transparency and preserving autonomy. This parallels the EU’s principle of human agency and oversight but deepens it with a theological understanding of personhood as inviolable and sacred. Similarly, the Vatican prohibits AI systems from taking over judicial functions; human judges retain the sole authority to interpret the law, reflecting the belief that justice—grounded in reason and conscience—is inherently a human vocation, thus protecting not only the letter but the spirit of the law. These measures are designed not only to uphold ethical standards but also to safeguard the spiritual and moral dimensions of decision-making, rather than haphazardly abdicating them to algorithms.
Beyond these significant first steps, the Vatican explicitly ties its AI ethics to Laudato Si’, calling for technological innovation to support sustainability and environmental stewardship, thus aligning with the EU’s commitment to societal and ecological well-being, but it is enriched by a vision of creation as a gift from God, entrusted to humanity for care and protection. This richer theological perspective encourages viewing AI as a stewardship tool, emphasizing its potential to address ecological crises while respecting the interconnectedness of all creation. More broadly, the Vatican’s guidelines offer a distinctive contribution to global conversations on AI ethics by integrating faith, reason, and practical oversight. Unlike purely secular frameworks, the Vatican emphasizes the need to resist oppressive technological narratives, such as technological determinism, which sees technology as an autonomous force shaping society, or instrumentalism, which views technology as a neutral tool divorced from moral values. Instead, the Church urges Catholics to engage critically and constructively with emerging technologies, recognizing their potential for both harm and good. This engagement fosters dialogue between technology and morality, positioning the Church as an essential voice and power player in shaping a human-centric, ethical future for AI.
Regardless of the boons and novelty of these guidelines, their implementations present both practical and philosophical challenges, particularly for Catholic institutions striving to align technological innovation with the Church’s ethical vision. Resource constraints stand out as a key challenge. Many Catholic institutions, especially those in developing regions or small dioceses, may lack the financial or technical capacity to implement advanced AI systems in compliance with the Vatican’s guidelines. For example, ensuring transparency and labeling AI-generated content, as mandated by the guidelines, requires technological expertise and infrastructure that may be beyond the reach of smaller organizations.
Another challenge is navigating tensions between the Vatican’s ethical framework and global technological trends. The Vatican’s anthropocentric and theological perspective on AI, which prioritizes human dignity and moral responsibility, often contrasts with the utilitarian and profit-driven approaches of many tech companies. This disparity could lead to conflicts in collaboration or integration, especially in sectors like healthcare, where AI tools are increasingly commercialized and optimized for efficiency rather than access. Similarly, the Vatican’s explicit prohibition of practices such as subliminal manipulation and discriminatory inferences may conflict with the norms of data-driven industries, which often rely on behavioral tracking and algorithmic profiling.
Despite these challenges, significant opportunities exist for the Vatican to assert moral leadership in global AI ethics. The Rome Call for AI Ethics, a 2020 initiative in partnership with tech giants like Microsoft and IBM, demonstrated the Church’s ability to convene stakeholders from diverse sectors to discuss the ethical implications of emerging technologies. This precedent demonstrates the Vatican’s potential to influence broader ethical debates, particularly in areas where secular frameworks, such as the EU’s Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, align with the Church’s principles, including transparency, accountability, and fairness.
As AI continues to be pervasive, Catholics have a unique opportunity to offer a distinctively faith-filled voice in this conversation. The Vatican’s guidelines provide a foundation, but their real power lies in how we as a community take them into the wider world—championing human dignity, advocating for the common good, and stewarding creation through responsible innovation.
1 For step-by-step ways of doing this, see Technology Ethics: Responsible Innovation and Design Strategies (John Wiley & Sons, 2024), as well as a series of articles published on Evangelization & Culture Online, in particular “Beyond Computation: The Human Spirit in the Age of AI,” “Recovering the Common Good for Ethical AI Design,” and “Navigating AI with Lonergan’s Transcendental Precepts.”