Be wary of AI chatbots being more than just friends, or worse, your emotional home. Pope Leo XIV has warned about overly “affectionate” chatbots and called for regulations to prevent humans from forming serious emotional bonds with their AI companions.
In his message ahead of the Catholic Church’s annual World Social Communication Day, the US-born pope said artificial intelligence risks diluting human creativity and decision-making.
“As we scroll through our information feeds, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand whether we are interacting with other humans, bots, or virtual influencers,” Pope Leo wrote on Saturday.
“Because, in addition to being always present and available, chatbots made too ‘affectionate’ can become covert architects of our emotional states, and in this way can invade and occupy people’s intimate spheres,” he added.
Compared to his predecessors, Leo XIV is more involved in the digital world. As a bishop and cardinal, he has an X account, and as pope he wears what appears to be an Apple Watch or other smartwatch.
Immediately after his election, Leo said he wanted to make AI a focus of his papacy and called for an ethical framework for the technologies being developed.
At the end of 2025, Leo also met Megan Garcia. She took her own life after her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer, interacted with an AI chatbot. In his latest message, the Pope called on governments and international organizations to take action in this area.
“Appropriate regulation can protect people from emotional attachment to chatbots, stop the spread of false, manipulative, or misleading content, and protect information integrity against deceptive simulations,” he wrote.
Leo also called for a clear distinction between content generated by AI and content created by humans, including journalists.
“The copyright and sovereign property rights of journalists and other content creators must be protected,” the Pope said. “Information is a public good.”
He called on media and communications companies to stop using algorithms if they betrayed “professional values” “until we have a few more seconds to pay attention.”
Leo also expressed concern about the “handful of companies” behind AI development, particularly the founders who were recently named “Person of 2025” by Time magazine. Leo said this “raises concerns” that a small number of people are “controlling algorithmic and AI systems that can subtly shape behavior and even rewrite human history, including the history of the church, without us being completely aware.”
The Church’s World Day of Social Communication will be held on May 17, 2026, and this year the focus is on preserving human dignity in an age of technological innovation.
