The Pope decries AI-generated art

• Pope Leo XIV spoke to artists and curators at a meeting in Vatican City on Friday.
• The Pope said the Catholic Church needs human artists in the age of AI.
• He said we need to distinguish human-made art from “what a machine can generate through statistical calculations.”

While Hollywood is grappling with AI, the Catholic Church is doubling down on human creatives.

Pope Leo XIV panned AI-generated art during a meeting with artists and curators in Vatican City on Friday. He said the Catholic Church hoped to renew its alliance with cultural institutions and artists to safeguard “what is human.”

“We live in the age of search engines that offer us thousands of instantaneous answers,” Pope Leo XIV said. “Yet, no matter how powerful they may be, they merely return what already exists and tend to give us what we already want.”

Pope Leo XIV said the risk of censorship and homogenization among art is a “great danger.”

“For my part, I also say to you today: the Church needs you. This is especially true in this age of artificial intelligence, in which we urgently need to distinguish human art from what is produced by machines,” he said. “There is an ontological difference — even before an aesthetic one — between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others.”

Pope Leo XIV said authentic art and culture preserve the human spark, something algorithms can’t do, though technology companies are certainly trying.

Companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google have invested heavily in developing the technology in a race to dominate the market, which could generate profits and bolster their legacy. While AI-powered chatbots emerged after OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, several companies have since created other products, including image and video generators.

For example, OpenAI went viral in spring 2025 when people used its ChatGPT image generator to create Studio Ghibli-style memes. Meta, on its part, allows users to create AI images through its Meta AI and Muse Image platforms. Similarly, xAI users can use Grok Imagine to create images.

While AI-optimists say the tech can help artists with idea generation, speed up mundane tasks, and assist in the design process, others don’t believe the benefits outweigh the risks. Critics are concerned that AI art could displace human workers, rip off their personal style, and violate copyright agreements. AI played a role in the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Since becoming the head of the Catholic Church in 2025, Pope Leo XIV has made AI a focal point. He’s addressed the potential impact of AI on humanity on several occasions, including last month when he warned against losing humanity to a “paradise of machines.”

The Pope’s stance on AI recently drew criticism from PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel.