According to The Verge, AI researcher John-Clark Levin has spent the last year building a network of about three dozen experts and priests—his “AI Avengers”—to strategize on getting the Vatican to focus on the risks of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Last month, he was inside the Vatican itself, pushing his case that the pope must act before perfect scientific certainty arrives, which he believes will be too late to avert severe dangers potentially just years away. His target, Pope Leo XIV, is the first American pope, holds a degree in mathematics, and has already made AI ethics a defining issue of his young papacy. Levin’s concrete goal is for the Vatican to launch a formal scientific consultation on AGI, similar to what Pope Francis did with climate change. The core challenge, as Levin puts it, is to “AGI-pill” the Vatican—Silicon Valley slang for convincing someone that AGI is a real and imminent possibility.
Why the pope? It’s all about soft power
Here’s the thing: the Vatican isn’t a military or economic superpower. But its influence is massive and unique. You’ve got 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, and history shows the pope’s moral authority shapes opinion far beyond the Church’s own followers. In a polarized world where the AGI race is largely seen as a tense U.S.-China standoff, the Vatican is a rare neutral entity with unparalleled convening power. Think about it. Who else could potentially mediate a discussion between those two giants on something this existential? Leo himself brings unique advantages: as an American, he might engage more easily with U.S.-based AI labs, and his math background means he probably won’t glaze over at the technical details. His influence extends widely, making him a surprisingly strategic target for a lobbying campaign.
A pope uniquely poised for the tech debate
Leo isn’t starting from zero. His predecessor, Francis, was already deep in AI ethics, launching the Rome Call and accidentally becoming the “Balenciaga Pope” thanks to a viral AI-generated puffer jacket image. But Leo has gone further. He chose his name to evoke Pope Leo XIII, who addressed the industrial revolution, signaling he sees AI as a similarly epoch-defining force. He’s mentioned AI’s risks and potential in his first addresses. Rumor has it he’s preparing a major AI-focused encyclical, a key teaching document. So the door is open. But as Levin points out, there’s a big gap between talking about AI ethics and grappling with AGI specifically. He uses a great analogy: worrying about AGI by only looking at current AI is like assessing the Industrial Revolution by only studying the spinning jenny. You’re missing the total, civilization-altering transformation.
Infiltrating the Holy See is not like D.C. lobbying
This is where it gets almost comically difficult. The Vatican isn’t Washington. Levin describes the process like being a “1950s gumshoe” in Rome, cornering priests in gelaterias to ask how things *really* work. The pace is glacial, which clashes badly with the “AGI is coming in a few years” urgency felt by Levin and others. Even months into Leo’s papacy, it’s still unclear who his key AI advisers are. And you have to bridge two worlds—AI safety and Catholicism—where the number of people who truly understand both “could probably fit in an elevator.” Levin has some unique inroads, like Leo visiting his high school years ago. But it’s a slow, frustrating puzzle. The fear, of course, is that while they’re figuring out the Vatican’s Byzantine power structures, Big Tech will swoop in with a more relaxed, corporate-friendly narrative about AGI’s risks.
What does “success” even look like here?
Nobody expects Pope Leo to become an AGI doomer or to start refereeing technical debates. The ask is modest on paper: just acknowledge AGI as a plausible near-future scenario and launch a formal study. But the potential ripple effects are huge. A Vatican-led consultation would lend immense legitimacy to the conversation and force a broader set of global leaders to engage. It could frame AGI not just as a technical or economic issue, but a profound human dignity issue—which is exactly the Church’s wheelhouse. Look at the gatherings he’s already convening. The pieces are there. The question is whether Levin’s “AI Avengers” can connect those dots to the AGI-specific argument before the window for influence closes. It’s a long-shot, high-stakes game of soft power persuasion in one of the world’s most ancient institutions. And honestly, it’s one of the weirdest and most fascinating fronts in the entire battle over our AI future.
