{"id":635701,"date":"2026-09-25T14:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/635701\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:46:10","slug":"pope-leo-warns-in-france-that-ai-is-creating-paradise-of-machines-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/635701\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo warns in France that AI is creating \u2018paradise of machines\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pope Leo XIV<\/a> urged the world to reconsider the development of artificial \u200bintelligence<\/a>, opening his four-day visit<\/a> to France<\/a> on Friday with a fervent warning that AI could create a future where \u201ca paradise of machines\u201d takes control of the \u200cEarth.<\/p>\n

The first US pope, who has made sounding the alarm about the risks of AI a central part of his 16-month papacy, put the issue at the heart of his visit to France, the first by a pope in nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a \u2018paradise of machines\u2019 invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment,\u201d he said, speaking under the \u200bgilded ceilings of the Elysee Palace.<\/p>\n

The pope also strongly reiterated the Church\u2019s pro-life teachings, criticising initiatives to allow assisted dying for those who have incurable illnesses, two months after French \u200bpoliticians approved such a measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am concerned … by those trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, \u2060surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one\u2019s own death,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"PopePope Leo XIV with France’s president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, attend a welcoming ceremony after disembarking from the plane upon his arrival at the Orly airport. Photograph: Yoan Valat\/ AFP via Getty Images \"AA banner reading “The Saint-Sulpice parish welcomes Pope Leo XIV” ahead of the pontiff’s apostolic visit to Paris in Paris. Photograph: Simon Wohlfahrt\/AFP via Getty Images \"PopePope Leo XIV arrives at Paris Orly airport at the start of his apostolic journey to France. Photograph: Henrique Campos \/ Hans Lucas \/ AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Leo, on a whirlwind three-city visit to France, will also seek to repair the Church\u2019s standing \u200bthere after abuse scandals sparked nationwide shock, and is also expected to lay out a vision for the future of Europe in a speech on Monday.<\/p>\n

Leo was greeted at the Paris Orly \u200bairport, under a clear blue sky, by president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, and by children who sang for him and asked for autographs. During his visit, he will travel to the famed Catholic shrine at Lourdes, in the southwest, and to Metz, on the German border.<\/p>\n

Leo was due to lead a prayer service in Paris on Friday at the restored Notre-Dame cathedral, in the first visit by a pope since a devastating \u200bfire nearly destroyed the Gothic masterpiece in 2019.<\/p>\n

Telling reporters on the plane to Paris that he was coming to convey a message of peace, Leo added: \u201cIt is a message which at \u200bthis time, as we all may know, is particularly important.\u201d<\/p>\n

People lining the streets Leo was due to pass through on his way to the Elysee held up phones and waved flags and signs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings a message \u200cof peace \u2060and hope that is very, very positive. His visit to France sends a wonderful signal to the country,\u201d a Catholic passerby, Antoine Barxias-Casties, said in front of Notre-Dame cathedral on the eve of Leo\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

Next on Leo\u2019s agenda on Friday is a speech to staff at the headquarters of the UN culture and education body, Unesco, which is facing budget shortfalls after US president Donald Trump withdrew from the agency in 2025.<\/p>\n

The first US pope attracted Trump\u2019s ire earlier this year after criticising the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Asked about Trump\u2019s attempt to bar CNN and several other outlets from the White House, Leo, \u200baboard the plane to Paris, reaffirmed his support \u200bfor freedom of the press, saying all \u2060were welcome to cover his visit.<\/p>\n

France, a secular nation where the separation of church and state is enshrined in a 1905 law, has witnessed a steady decline in affiliation to the Catholic Church during the postwar era, mirroring a trend in other traditionally Catholic countries.<\/p>\n

Although the French \u200bBishops\u2019 Conference points to an increase in baptisms of adults, a report published by the official statistics agency INSEE showed that only 25% \u200bof French 18-to-49-year-olds identified as \u2060Catholic, compared with 43% a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

Leo\u2019s visit comes as Catholic leaders in France have been at odds with the government over the 2024 enshrining of a right to abortion in the French constitution, a world first, and the passage of the law legalising assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses.<\/p>\n

Local Church leaders hope the pope\u2019s visit will repair the Church\u2019s standing after a \u2060crushing 2021 report \u200bfound that some 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.<\/p>\n

French bishops \u200bhave since introduced compensation and safeguarding measures, but survivors have continued to press Church leaders to demonstrate accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeo bears the immense responsibility of \u2018declaring enough is enough\u2019,\u201d Alain Esquerre, 66, a spokesperson for victims at the Notre-Dame de B\u00e9tharram Catholic institution, opens new tab, told \u200bReuters.<\/p>\n

The pope will meet seven French victims of abuse by Catholic clergy on Sunday in Lourdes. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n

\"SouvenirsSouvenirs including Vatican’s flags, mugs and the upcoming papal visit are displayed for sale in a shop in Metz, eastern France. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV urged the world to reconsider the development of artificial \u200bintelligence, opening his four-day visit to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[269981,220,218,219,6285,61,60,80],"class_list":["post-635701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-269981","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-horizontal","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}