Pope Leo XIV unveiled his first encyclical Monday, a roughly 42,000-word document titled Magnifica Humanitas, or “Magnificent Humanity,” calling for robust regulation of artificial intelligence and urging developers, lawmakers and educators to prioritize human dignity over profit. The pope signed the letter on May 15 at the Vatican, choosing the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical on labor written during the Industrial Revolution. The first American pope is positioning AI as this century’s defining labor and dignity question. “It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and