Pope Leo XIV has explained that his papal name honors the Catholic Church’s tradition of social teaching while signaling a renewed focus on artificial intelligence as a defining issue of his pontificate.

Pope Leo XIV, elected last week after the death of Pope Francis, discussed AI during an address to the College of Cardinals on Saturday.

Pope Leo XIV indicated on Saturday that his papacy will follow closely in the footsteps of the late Pope Francis, telling church cardinals that they should take up that “precious legacy” and identifying artificial intelligence as a main challenge for working people and “human dignity.