May 25 (Reuters) – Pope Leo urged governments to slow down and closely regulate the development of AI systems in his first major document, released on Monday, warning that they spread misinformation, prioritise ​conflict and risk leading the world down a path of unending war.The first U.S. pope also expressed concern at a Vatican event launching the text that some autonomous weapons systems have advanced “practically beyond any human ‌reach to govern them”. The event was also attended by Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, one of the world’s top AI companies.

Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone in recent months and has drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after criticising the Iran war, made a range of impassioned appeals to world leaders in the lengthy document, known as an encyclical.The first U.S. pope called for ownership of AI data not to be left solely in private hands, for policy-makers to protect the rights of workers and keep children safe from the technology, and urged the cooling of competition ​between AI companies.

“What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating,” said Leo in the text, entitled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity).The pope called for “robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users ​and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility.”The pope said any use of AI in warfare “must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints” and called it “not permissible” to entrust AI systems with lethal decisions.

Leo, the 14th pope to choose that name, cited centuries of prior papal teachings on social justice issues before addressing the ethics of AI systems.He specifically invoked his predecessor Leo XIII, who published a famed encyclical in 1891 that called for better pay and ​conditions for labourers during the Industrial Revolution.