Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard the flight from Metz, France, to Rome on September 28, 2026
| Photo Credit: AP
Pope Leo on Monday (September 28, 2026) said concerns that artificial intelligence could destroy the world are not “fake news” and should be taken seriously, in an apparent rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The first U.S. pope, who has warned of the dangers of AI throughout his 16-month papacy, also directly criticized technology CEOs who argued there should be no guardrails on the technology.
“I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously,” the pontiff said in a press conference on his flight back to Rome after a four-day trip to France. “I don’t think that that is fake news, as some have said.”
Mr. Trump told the U.N. General Assembly last week that he believed fears about the dangers to humanity from AI were a “hoax.”
The pope said he had read on Monday (September 28) that the head of chipmaker Nvidia had announced there could be a way to insert guardrails into certain AI models. But Pope Leo expressed scepticism, adding: “He’s the same one, however, that says there should be no limits placed and no government regulation.”
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang told CBS News this month that he agreed with Mr. Trump that safety concerns about AI were overblown.
Pope Leo urged the world “to promote dialogue, study, investigate, to find ways to make sure that AI does not get to a point where it could destroy humanity.”
“I think that there are enough people seriously interested in that … but we have to keep working,” said the Pope. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing’s going to happen.”
Published – September 29, 2026 08:21 am IST
