Pope Leo XIV calls for AI to be “disarmed” and backs steps toward banning lethal autonomous weapons

Medium Oct. 30, 2026 · Sala de Imprensa da Santa Sé

Published in edition no. 1 of Noticiário do Joãozinho · Saturday, October 31, 2026, afternoon edition

Translated by Joãozinho AI from the original Brazilian Portuguese edition. Facts, numbers and sources are the same as in the original; quotes, video titles and source names stay in their original language. Read the original in Portuguese

At an audience with participants in a meeting of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Future of Life Institute, the Pope said that “machines are tools, not people”. According to The Verge, he urged UN member states to take concrete steps to ban lethal autonomous weapons at the meeting in Geneva next month.

Why it matters It puts global moral weight on the negotiation over autonomous weapons, on the eve of the Geneva meeting.

Original source: Sala de Imprensa da Santa Sé · The Verge — https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2026/10/30/261030e.html

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