Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah addresses Pope's AI encyclical at Vatican
On May 25, 2026, Pope Leo XIV issued an encyclical titled "Magnifica humanitas," focusing on the implications of artificial intelligence for human dignity. The Pope presented this document in Vatican City, where Chris Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, addressed the audience about the challenges facing AI development, emphasizing the need for external oversight. He highlighted the effects of AI on poverty, proposed a moral framework for humanity, and examined the emotions reflected in AI systems. Olah advocated for partnerships involving religious institutions, civil organizations, and governments. Simultaneously, KPMG revealed a global initiative to incorporate Claude into its workforce, and Anthropic took over Stainless.
Key facts
- Pope Leo XIV released encyclical 'Magnifica humanitas' on May 25, 2026.
- Chris Olah, Anthropic co-founder, spoke at the Vatican presentation.
- Olah stated AI labs operate under conflicting incentives.
- He described AI models as 'grown' from human data and mysterious.
- Three areas for Church discernment: global poor, human flourishing, nature of AI.
- Olah cited findings of AI internal states mirroring joy, fear, grief.
- KPMG integrated Claude across 276,000+ employees in a global alliance.
- Anthropic acquired Stainless for SDKs and MCP server tooling.
Entities
Artists
- Chris Olah
- Pope Leo XIV
Institutions
- Anthropic
- KPMG
- Stainless
- Vatican City
- Notre Dame Law School
- Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
- Meta Oversight Board
- TechCrunch
Locations
- Vatican City