There can be only one: Pope Francis rejects AI version of himself, warns of deepfake dangers

Pope Francis has rejected a proposal to create an AI version of himself that would provide digital audiences and answer questions from Catholics worldwide. The pontiff expressed strong concerns about AI impersonation and warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence development being driven primarily by wealthy individuals rather than humanity’s broader needs.

What they’re saying: Pope Francis was emphatic in his rejection of the AI pope concept during excerpts from a planned biography.

• “Someone recently asked authorization to create an artificial me so that anybody could sign on to this website and have a personal audience with ‘the pope,’ but this artificial intelligence pope would give them answers to their questions, and I said, ‘I’m not going to authorize that,'” he stated.
• “If there’s anybody who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the pope is high on the list,” he continued.
• “It’s going to be very difficult to discover the presence of God in AI,” Francis said, directly criticizing those developing artificial general intelligence.

Why this matters: The pope’s stance highlights growing concerns about AI impersonation and deepfakes, particularly when they involve religious or authoritative figures who could mislead followers.

• AI models are prone to hallucinations—generating false or inappropriate responses—which could result in an AI pope providing harmful guidance to Catholics seeking spiritual advice.
• The rejection underscores broader questions about authentic religious leadership in the digital age and the risks of delegating spiritual guidance to artificial systems.

Broader AI concerns: Francis criticized the concentration of AI development among extremely wealthy individuals while humanity’s needs are ignored.

• He warned that without voices like the Church speaking up, “the danger is that the digital world will go on its own way and we will become pawns, or left by the wayside.”
• The pope also condemned deepfake videos of himself, including one showing him falling down stairs, as examples of fraudulent AI-generated content.

The Musk connection: Pope Francis previously criticized Elon Musk’s wealth accumulation, prompting a biblical response from the Tesla CEO.

• Musk responded on X with the Bible verse: “‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?’ (Matthew 7:3-5).”
• The exchange suggests ongoing tension between the Vatican and prominent AI developers over the technology’s development and societal impact.