Pope Leo adds to growing concerns about modern slavery risks across AI supply chains

In an official address, Pope Leo XIV warned artificial intelligence and the digital economy can create new forms of exploitation and exclusion if human dignity is not protected.

The comments come as governments and businesses rapidly expand their use of artificial intelligence and invest in the infrastructure needed to support it.

The Pope echoed widespread concerns about the growing sector, highlighting modern slavery risks across AI supply chains, and the concentration of power among technology companies.

In the same official statement, the Pope reflected on the Catholic Church’s historical role in legitimising slavery and its delayed condemnation of all forms of human exploitation, describing this legacy as “a wound in Christian memory.”

An estimated 50 million people are living in modern slavery, according to the latest Global Slavery Index, highlighting the need to address emerging risks as new technologies reshape economies and labour markets.

While AI is increasingly being presented as transformative and capable of improving productivity to solve complex global challenges, Pope Leo XIV argued economic and technological progress cannot be separated from human rights and social justice.

“The most extraordinary scientific progress, the most astounding technical feats and the most amazing economic growth, unless accompanied by authentic moral and social progress, will in the long run go against man,” Pope Leo said.

His comments contribute to a growing discussion among human rights advocates, researchers, and civil society organisations about the labour conditions behind the AI economy and the risks emerging across global supply chains.

The rapid expansion relies on complex global supply chains, including:

Many of these sectors already face elevated risks of forced labour and labour exploitation. These are also often characterised by low wages, insecure employment, poor working conditions, and limited protections.

The Pope called for supply chain transparency within the technological industry and digital economy, “so that no competitive advantage is built upon hidden exploitation.” He also underlined the need for due diligence and for digital platforms to prioritise “the protection of workers, the fight against forced labour and the assessment of the social impact of data-driven business models.”

AI is increasingly being used in employment, finance, public services, and migration systems, where algorithms can influence access to jobs, services, and opportunities.

These systems can deepen existing inequalities and create new forms of exclusion, while making it harder to determine who is responsible when harm occurs.

Migrant workers and people facing discrimination are likely to face the greatest impact when existing inequalities become embedded in automated decision-making.

The discussion around modern forms of exploitation comes as the Catholic Church continues to reflect on its own history.

Elements of the Church legitimised slavery for centuries and failed to explicitly condemn the enslavement of people.

While some Catholic leaders and religious orders played important roles in abolition movements, the Church was slow to formally reject all forms of slavery.

Pope Leo XIV has formally apologised for the Catholic Church’s historical role in legitimising slavery, acknowledging institutional responsibility and asking for pardon.

His comments on AI and exploitation have prompted renewed discussion about how lessons from historical slavery should inform responses to emerging forms of exploitation today.

There are growing calls for stronger governance, legal frameworks, independent oversight, and public accountability to ensure AI is developed and used responsibly.

Preventing exploitation must remain central as demand grows for the labour and resources powering the AI economy.

Workers and survivors are essential to designing effective responses to modern slavery.

The strongest anti-slavery systems are those shaped by people with lived experience, whose expertise helps identify risks, strengthen accountability, and improve outcomes.

Read Pope Leo’s full encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity).