{"id":260371,"date":"2026-01-31T03:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T03:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260371\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T03:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T03:13:08","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-warns-ai-chatbot-girlfriends-threaten-real-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260371\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV warns AI chatbot \u2018girlfriends\u2019 threaten real relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">He said: \u201cBecause chatbots are excessively \u2018affectionate\u2019, as well as always present and accessible, they can become hidden architects of our emotional states and so invade and occupy our sphere of intimacy.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Pope Leo XIV expressed concern that AI chatbots could mislead users and invade emotional intimacy. Photo \/ 123rf\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Pope Leo XIV expressed concern that AI chatbots could mislead users and invade emotional intimacy. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cTechnology that exploits our need for relationships can lead not only to painful consequences in the lives of individuals, but also to damage in the social, cultural and political fabric of society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">He warned that replacing real relationships with AI risks trapping users in an echo chamber of their own thoughts and desires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">The pontiff said: \u201cThis occurs when we substitute relationships with others for AI systems that catalogue our thoughts, creating a world of mirrors around us, where everything is made \u2018in our image and likeness\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">The Pope also criticised social media companies and their algorithms, which he said are designed to reward instant emotional reactions rather than thoughtful engagement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">He said: \u201cThese are profitable for platforms but reward quick emotions and penalise more time-consuming human responses such as the effort required to understand and reflect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThese algorithms reduce our ability to listen and think critically, and increase social polarisation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">However, Pope Leo made clear he is not opposed to technological progress itself and urged people to approach AI with caution and discernment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vwaNpWtPaxhXkxNi\" style=\"display:none\">He said: \u201cWe should not stop digital innovation but guide it and be aware of its ambivalent nature.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He said: \u201cBecause chatbots are excessively \u2018affectionate\u2019, as well as always present and accessible, they can become hidden&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[365,363,364,149504,9473,16719,16555,149503,26831,111,139,69,95426,6115,479,145,109209,8222,8218,149502],"class_list":["post-260371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-attachments","tag-chatbot","tag-emotional","tag-form","tag-girlfriends","tag-leo","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pope","tag-real","tag-relationships","tag-technology","tag-threaten","tag-warned","tag-warns","tag-xiv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}