Pope Leo XIV Reveals How AI Helped Choose His Papal Name

In his first formal address as the pontiff, Pope Leo XIV revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) not only shaped his thinking but also his choice of papal name. The Chicago-born Augustinian missionary, Robert Prevost, was elected on Thursday (May 8) afternoon after a two-thirds majority vote from the cardinals.

In an address to the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo XIV explained that his name references Pope Leo XIII, who presided over the church between 1878 and 1903-- at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The new pope drew parallels between the rapid industrialisation of the 19th century and today's surge in AI.

"I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution," said the pope, according to the Vatican's translation of his speech.

The original Rerum novarum, issued in 1891, addressed the rights of workers amid the upheavals of the industrial age.

Perils of AI

The pope also highlighted the perils of AI, adding that society must confront the ethical challenges of today's technological era.

"In our own day, the church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour," he said.

The pope's comment comes in the backdrop of the US President Donald Trump posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pontiff, joking he would like the job.

Notably, Pope Leo's predecessor, the late Pope Francis, frequently talked about potential benefits and risks associated with the novel technology. In 2023, Pope Francis became a victim of AI-driven forgery when an image of him in a white designer puffer jacket went viral on social media. Reacting to the incident, he cautioned about doctored images that “appear perfectly plausible but false".

Pope Leo XIV will be formally installed as pope on May 18, 2025, in St. Peter's Square, marking the beginning of his papacy.