Pope Leo XIV cited one of the Bible’s most famous stories, the Tower of Babel, while warning of the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. In recent remarks on the ethics of artificial intelligence and the power of global technology, the pope compared the modern race of artificial intelligence to the ancient biblical story of humans trying to build a tower to the sky. The purpose of this comparison is to sound a warning about unchecked ambition, concentration of power, and the pursuit of technological progress without moral responsibility. By invoking the Tower of Babel, Pope Leo XIV highlighted concerns that artificial intelligence could deepen chaos, inequality and social divisions if developed without ethical limits and human oversight.
What is the Tower of Babel?
The Tower of Babel is a story from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. According to the narrative, humans once shared a language and began building a city and a tower in the land of Shinar, which is often associated with ancient Mesopotamia. The builders said they wanted to make a name for themselves by building a tower “with its top reaching to the sky.”In the story, God confuses the people’s languages so they can’t understand each other, and the work stops. The people were then scattered across the earth, and the place became known as the Tower of Babel, which biblical texts associate with the confusion of human speech. The story has traditionally been read as a warning about human pride, ambition, and the limitations of human power.
Why Pope Leo XIV Used the Tower of Babel Comparison
Pope Leo XIV used the Tower of Babel as a symbolic warning about the direction of modern technology, especially artificial intelligence. His comments focused on concerns that if governments and tech companies pursue innovation without ethical safeguards, artificial intelligence could become a tool for excessive control and centralization of power.Like the builders of the Tower of Babel, modern societies risk believing that all limitations can be overcome through technological advancement alone, the pope said. He warned that AI systems designed without accountability could treat people as data rather than human beings, thereby diluting truth, increasing misinformation and diminishing human personality.The comparison also reflects concerns about global reliance on a handful of powerful AI developers. In line with the pope’s broader message, technology should serve humanity rather than dominate it.Over the centuries, the Tower of Babel has become an enduring symbol of the failure of human ambition, the breakdown of communication, and the dangers of pursuing power without wisdom. Pope Leo XIV’s warning about artificial intelligence shows how this ancient story continues to be used to explain modern global challenges.
