Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Targets Market Logic, Not AI, as the Real Threat to Humanity

The folk wisdom in Rome is that 'a fat pope follows a thin pope' — that each pope tends to be the opposite of his predecessor.

Leo chose to wear the traditional red garments of the papacy, whereas Francis insisted on a simple white cassock.

Instead of Francis's off-the-cuff remarks — which often sent Vatican officials scurrying to do damage control — Leo prefers to read carefully from prepared statements.

Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical has been presented as a defense of humanity against artificial intelligence. But on a closer reading, the threat he identifies is not software development but the capitalist market logic that impels it.