Tech giants lobbied Pope Leo XIV in the run-up to his AI encyclical
Major technology companies and international diplomats waged a strategic campaign to influence the Vatican in the run-up to the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, according to Politico. On a recent spring day, a group of executives from Google, Amazon and Meta had a brief meeting with the Pope, after which they held a session lasting several hours at the French embassy in Rome. Under the guidance of Father Eric Salobir, the delegation worked together with Paolo Ruffini, a senior Vatican communications official, to discuss the moral implications of emerging AI tools.
This series of meetings represents a subtle lobbying effort by Silicon Valley to frame the development of artificial intelligence as a responsible endeavour. By making use of diplomatic channels and Catholic intermediaries, tech companies want to position themselves as ethical partners before the official church document is published. Much is at stake, as this encyclical provides a Catholic moral framework for a technology that is fundamentally transforming the global labour market and social interaction.
Pope Leo XIV has made it clear that the intersection of faith and technology is a priority for his pontificate. He explicitly linked his choice of name to Leo XIII’s focus on human dignity and the Industrial Revolution, indicating that he regards AI as a similarly transformative shift. His personal embrace of modernity was visible during his first Mass, where an Apple Watch could be seen on his wrist.
AI constitutions
The Pope’s approach to AI ethics has been shaped by specific partnerships, notably with Anthropic. Anthropic has already integrated the Vatican’s vision into the “constitution” for its AI model, Claude.
Beyond individual companies, there is a broader network of influence in Rome. Father Eric Salobir, a former investment banker, heads the Human Technology Foundation – an organisation that includes Qualcomm and Palantir among its members. Through the French AI observatory in Rome, Salobir has facilitated private dialogues between church officials and policy directors from Meta, Google and Amazon. While some discussions focused on child safety, they expanded to the broader humanistic risks and social consequences of seamless AI communication.
The United States has also sought to maintain a dialogue with the Holy See on this subject, despite political tensions between the Trump administration and the papacy. The US embassy has recently hosted events on AI and employment, featuring guests such as George Osborne from OpenAI.
These efforts are intended to show the Vatican that ethical AI development is a priority for some Western companies. Not all Catholic leaders will, however, blindly follow the resulting guidelines; Vice President JD Vance noted on Monday that, although the encyclical will be important, he may not agree with every conclusion the Pope draws.
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