The Vatican announced on August 11 that Pope Leo XIV’s message for the 2027 World Day of Peace will focus on «disarming technology» and the moral responsibility of political leaders.
The theme will be «Dismantling Technology, Serving Peace: Politics as a Preventive Responsibility,» according to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
«His Holiness wishes to draw attention to the moral responsibility of those called to serve in the public sphere, and urges everyone to defend human dignity and contribute to building peace, beginning with «disarming technology,»» the dicastery said in a statement.
World Peace Day is celebrated each year on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The Pope sends a message for the occasion, which the Vatican forwards to governments around the world.
The Risks of Delegating War to AI
Based on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, «Magnifica Humanitas,» on the ethics of artificial intelligence and the protection of the human person, the message will contain a warning about the risks involved in entrusting military decisions to artificial intelligence.
The announcement comes after several Nobel laureates, inspired by the Pope’s encyclical, gathered in Rome on July 16 to sign a declaration calling for a global treaty that would ban the use of artificial intelligence in nuclear launch systems.
Protecting Human Responsibility
«Pope Leo XIV makes a fervent appeal to the international community to promote common agreements capable of safeguarding human responsibility and humanitarian principles in situations where human life and peaceful coexistence among peoples are at stake,» the statement said.
This will be the 60th World Day of Peace, a tradition established by Pope Paul VI and inspired by Pope John XXIII’s encyclical «Pacem in Terris.».
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Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.
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