New pope chose his name based on AI’s threats to “human dignity”

White smoke from the Sistine Chapel signalled the election of Pope Leo XIV, whose choice of papal name—inspired by artificial intelligence—reflected Francis' focus on technological transformation. As a nod to Pope Leo XIII's 1879 Encyclical Rerum Novarum, Leo XIV positioned himself to address AI's impact as Francis did a century ago. Yet, like others before him, he acknowledged the need to defend human dignity amid the challenges posed by AI.