Pope Leo urges distinction between human art and AI creations

Pope Leo said Friday that it was becoming “urgent” to distinguish human art from what machines produce in the age of artificial intelligence.

“In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce,” he wrote on the social media platform “X”.

The pontiff pointed to an ontological difference between art and material generated by machines through statistical calculations based on millions of images created by others. “Algorithms lack the spark of humanity,” he said.

Recent incidents demonstrating AI’s capabilities, together with warnings from people in the industry, have prompted calls to slow the technology’s development and tighten its regulation.

Last month, Pope Leo said artificial intelligence must serve human dignity, strengthen peace and be guided by wisdom and charity.