Tech titans mostly silent after Pope Leo’s warning about risks of AI

Artificial intelligenceTech titans mostly silent after Pope Leo’s warning about risks of AIThe AI boom’s most high-profile executives didn’t immediately weigh in on the pope’s lengthy encyclical, though some tech industry leaders signaled support for his overarching message.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Pope Leo XIV on April 17 in Douala, Cameroon.Simone Risoluti / Vatican Pool / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 26, 2026, 3:36 PM EDTBy Daniel ArkinPope Leo XIV’s sweeping warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence drew a largely muted response across the American technology world, though a handful of leaders quickly embraced the Vatican’s push for stronger government oversight while others blasted it as a threat to innovation.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In a roughly 42,300-word encyclical published Monday, Leo called for more regulation of the private companies powering the AI boom, stronger protections for workers facing economic disruption, and measures to protect people from fake AI-generated information. He also criticized “the growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed.”“Humanity — in all its grandeur and woundedness — must never be replaced or surpassed. We can embrace the technological progress that alleviates suffering and unlocks new possibilities, provided that we do not abandon the very essence of our humanity, namely the capacity for relationship and love,” the pontiff wrote in “Magnifica Humanitas,” or Magnificent Humanity.Silicon Valley’s most high-profile AI executives — including Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg — did not immediately express public opinions on Leo’s encyclical, his first since he was elected head of the Catholic Church. Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.Notably, Anthropic’s top executives have for y...