Vatican calls for AI to complement rather than replace humans in new guidelines

The Vatican released a document on Tuesday outlining ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in everything ranging from the economy to healthcare and human relationships.

Pope Francis has issued several warnings about the risks associated with AI technology, and this new document by the Vatican’s doctrine and cultural offices expands on what the pontiff has already said.

It comes as a new AI chatbot by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek raised the stakes in the AI technology race, catching up with US generative AI leaders at a fraction of the cost.

Here's a look at some of the themes covered in the document, which called for AI to only be used as a tool to "complement human intelligence rather than replace its richness".

AI and warfare

"While AI’s analytical abilities could help nations seek peace and ensure security, the 'weaponisation of artificial intelligence' can also be highly problematic," the Vatican warned.

It added that AI has the potential to increase instruments of war "well beyond the scope of human oversight," which could provoke "a destabilising arms race, with catastrophic consequences for human rights".

The Vatican's document also talked about AI as an extension of human power.

"The atrocities committed throughout history are enough to raise deep concerns about the potential abuses of AI," it said.

AI and human relationships

The document warns that AI is not a substitute for genuine relationships and cites its lack of empathy as a risk when anthropomorphising AI in areas such as child development or interpersonal relationships.

"While AI can simulate empathetic responses, it cannot replicate the eminently personal and relational nature of authentic empathy," the document said.

AI and the environment

The document underlined that while AI can help fight climate change through models to forecast extreme events, help manage emergencies and help promote sustainable development, it also poses risks that are obscured by the use of words like "the cloud" that detach data storage "from the physical world".

"It is crucial to recognise that its operation demands vast amounts of energy and water, contributing significantly to CO2 emissions," the document said.

AI and education

The document said that AI should help promote critical thinking, and not just train “young people how to amass information and generate quick responses".

Education is not about "filling one’s head with ideas," but "is about taking a risk in the tensions between the mind, the heart and the hands," it said.

"Schools, universities and scientific societies are challenged to help students and professionals to grasp the social and ethical aspects of the development and uses of technology,'' the document said.

AI and healthcare

While citing the potential of AI to enhance medical care, such as in diagnosing illness, the document said it is critical that AI is used to enhance and not "replace the relationship between patients and healthcare providers".

"Decisions regarding patient treatment and the weight of responsibility they entail must always remain with the human person, and should never be delegated to AI,’" the document said.

AI and misinformation/deepfakes

AI presents a risk of "generating manipulated content and false information, which can easily mislead people due to its resemblance to the truth,'' the document said.

"Countering AI-driven falsehoods is not only the work of industry experts - it requires the efforts of all people of goodwill,'' it said, calling for diligence on the part of those who share AI-generated content to verify "the truth of what they disseminate".