Disarming AI, Defending Humanity: Stop Killer Robots Interfaith Group Responds to "Magnifica Humanitas"

The following statement was developed by the Interfaith group of the Stop Killer Robots coalition in response to Pope Leo XIV’s Encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas”.

Responding to Pope Leo XIV’s Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the Interfaith Group of the Stop Killer Robots Campaign affirms that human intelligence, conscience and moral responsibility must remain at the centre of decisions affecting human life. The statement endorses the Encyclical’s call to “disarm AI” and urges the international community to adopt robust legal measures to prohibit autonomous weapons systems that target people and to preserve meaningful human control over the use of force.

The Interfaith group of the Stop Killer Robots coalition, welcomes Pope Leo XIV’s call in Magnifica Humanitas for “the most rigorous ethical constraints” on the development and use of artificial intelligence in warfare “to guarantee respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life and to avoid a race to develop such arms – a call that extends to the demand that “AI needs to be disarmed” and “freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death.”

The Interfaith Group values the encyclical’s clear distinction between human intelligence and artificial intelligence, as well as its profound reflection on what it means to be human. AI systems “merely imitate certain functions of human intelligence” and remain fundamentally different from human intelligence, which is experiential, embodied, emotional and relational in ways that no machine can replicate. Above all, AI systems cannot be moral agents because they “do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences.” 

The Interfaith group shares the Catholic Church’s assessment that “it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems.” The threat to human dignity and the risk of dehumanisation posed by the weaponisation of AI demand clear ethical limits on the development and use of autonomous weapons systems. We therefore welcome the ethical criteria proposed in the encyclical concerning personal responsibility for decisions involving lethal force, the “moral timeframe” for making such judgments, and the “identification and protection of civilians” in accordance with international humanitarian law. These criteria, in turn, give rise to three non-negotiable requirements that resonate strongly with the objectives long advocated for by the Stop Killer Robots coalition:

1. All systems used in a war setting must guarantee the possibility of retracing and reconstructing decision-making processes, so that accountability and blame are not collapsed into “the machine.”
2. The decision to use lethal force cannot be delegated to opaque or automated processes, but must remain under effective, self-aware and responsible human control.
3.  It is imperative to establish a shared framework — also at the international level — in order to curb the technological arms race and ensure robust protection for civilians and the infrastructures necessary for their survival.

The ethical criteria and practical guidance set out in the encyclical should serve as an important point of reference for governments, international organisations and civil society working to address the challenges posed by autonomous weapons systems. Pope Leo rightly describes humanitarian disarmament as “a service to peace and the dignity of the human family.”

The encyclical is especially notable for placing military and civilian applications of AI within a single ethical framework. Its central concern is the delegation of irreversible decisions affecting human life to systems that possess neither conscience nor accountability. Autonomous weapons are part of a broader technological ecosystem involving profiling, classification and targeting, in which human beings risk being reduced to data points rather than recognised as persons possessing inherent dignity.

The Holy Father also places the challenge of autonomous weapons within the wider context of militarisation, arms races and the weakening of multilateral cooperation. His warning that AI may make war appear more feasible and less subject to human restraint deserves urgent attention. By increasing distance between decision-makers and those affected by violence, autonomous systems risk lowering the threshold for the use of force. As the encyclical reminds us, peace is not secured through increasingly sophisticated means of destruction, but through dialogue, diplomacy, cooperation and a renewed commitment to our shared humanity.

This teaching forms an important contribution not only to Catholic social doctrine but also to the broader ethical conversation among all people of goodwill who believe that scientific and technological advances should serve humanity and the common good. We particularly welcome Pope Leo’s appeal to those who develop artificial intelligence. “Developers bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility,” he writes, “for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity.” This insight echoes our own conviction, expressed in our 2023 interfaith statement, that technological innovation must be guided by wisdom, compassion and a commitment to the common good. Technology is not neutral; it embodies values and priorities that shape the future of human society.

Private and voluntary self-regulation alone is insufficient to meet the challenges posed by AI in warfare. The international community and United Nations Member States must play a far more active role in discerning, governing and directing technological power toward the common good. We therefore urge states to work with renewed determination toward legally binding international rules that prohibit autonomous weapons systems that target people and ensure meaningful human control over the use of force.

At a time when many voices speak of conflict as unavoidable and technological acceleration as unstoppable, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that another path remains open. Peace is possible. Human beings are capable of wisdom, restraint and solidarity. The future is not determined by our machines but by the moral and political choices we make together. We join the Holy Father in calling on all people of goodwill to ensure that human conscience, responsibility and compassion remain at the centre of every technological innovation, and that the immense power of artificial intelligence is directed toward the flourishing of life rather than its destruction.

In hope and shared purpose, 

The Interfaith group of the Stop Killer Robots coalition