Vice President Vance Praises Pope Leo XIV Encyclical on AI Risks

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that portions of Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical on artificial intelligence sounded “very profound” and appropriate for a church leader. The 42,000-word document, titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” urges governments to regulate AI to protect human dignity and limit its use in warfare.

It warns that data centers consume large amounts of energy and water and could accelerate conflict.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, told NBC News he had not read the full text but reviewed summaries and excerpts. ” Vance added that the pope’s timing coincides with the start of what he called the AI age, similar to how Pope Leo XIII addressed the Industrial Age.

XIV released the encyclical Monday with Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic. The company’s participation drew attention because the Trump administration earlier directed agencies to stop using Anthropic after the firm declined to give the U.S. military unrestricted access to its models.

Weeks earlier, Vance had publicly cautioned the pope about comments on war, prompting a statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that defended the pontiff’s remarks. Vance’s Tuesday interview also touched on his own Lenten practices, including deleting X from his phone and following a high-protein diet recommended by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“What I read of it sounds very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the church.”

Vance said he plans to reinstall X later and described missing direct interaction with users while noting the break improved his productivity.