Pope Leo Warns of a 'Paradise of Machines' in Paris, and Italy Reads the Signal

Pope Leo XIV used the opening of a four-day state visit to France to warn that artificial intelligence could undermine humanity, telling an audience at the Elysée Palace that the alternative was a 'paradise of machines', according to Al Jazeera. Le Monde reported that crowds cheered him in Paris, and that he also urged France to be a 'tireless champion of peace' and argued that 'authentic secularity' should not exclude religion.

The visit has become as much about doctrine as diplomacy. Le Monde reported that in the same Paris speech the Pope condemned surrogacy, the buying of organs and the concept of 'arranging one's own death', staking out firm positions on bioethics alongside the warnings on technology. Politico Europe reported that he defended freedom of conscience without naming the far right, at a moment when France's populist forces are eyeing power and front-runner Marine Le Pen has revived a proposed headscarf ban.