Pope Leo XIV on Friday posted a critique of AI-generated art, arguing that algorithms lack "the spark of humanity." According to TechCrunch, he wrote that there is an ontological difference, before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others.
The post is part of a broader Vatican posture on AI. In May, the pope issued an encyclical letter that emphasized the importance of human dignity in a world of increasing automation.
TechCrunch notes that AI companies have not left the Vatican alone. Citing a recent New York Times report, it says Anthropic has lobbied the Vatican to reconsider its position on non-human consciousness, apparently finding little success.