Pope says concerns about AI going rogue are not 'fake news' after Trump 'hoax' claims

Monday, 28 September 2026 23:34

The Pope has repeated his warnings about artificial intelligence - saying concerns the technology could go rogue are not "fake news".

His remarks follow US President Donald Trump's recent denials that AI - which he calls "super intelligence" - poses a potential danger, calling such claims a "hoax".

Speaking to reporters on a plane as he returned to Rome from a trip to France, Pope Leo said: "This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about.

"We can't just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen."

The first US pontiff, who dedicated his first encyclical to AI and protecting humanity, also said that while he's not in "panic mode" over the technology, he does "think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI should be taken seriously".

"I don't think that that is 'fake news', as some have said to try and cause whether financial or other some other kind of benefit," he said.

His comments follow several AI giants, including Anthropic, calling for a slowdown in development to give safety measures time to catch up to the fast-moving technology.

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Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has warned that within six to 12 months, AI could be capable of leading a swarm of agents that could take over the internet.

That followed Jacob Coxon, a researcher who previously worked at OpenAI, resigning from Anthropic and claiming "neither company is acting responsibly" in developing artificial intelligence.

It also comes after a series of AI-led hacking attempts: Australia's prime minister revealed last week that a government website had become the target of a hack by an OpenAI agent in June.

It's not the first time the Pope or his aides have sounded the alarm on AI: Leo's AI adviser Paolo Benanti told The Cathy Newman Show there is "no way to put such kind of a platform under the law", adding that the tech is "above the law and that is really dangerous for social good".

He said the societal impact of such an advancement in the technology "could become a tragedy".

Mr Trump earlier this month rejected the notion of regulating big tech, saying on his Truth Social platform: "The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!"

(c) Sky News 2026: Pope says concerns about AI going rogue are not 'fake news' after Trump 'hoax' claims