Pope warns against undermining human 'dignity' in AI, social media era

Vatican City: Pope Leo XVI on Tuesday called on the world to protect human dignity online as it faces the challenge of AI, at the Vatican s first...

Vatican City: Pope Leo XVI on Tuesday called on the world to protect human "dignity" online as it faces the "challenge" of AI, at the Vatican's first mass for Catholic influencers.

He was speaking as thousands of young Catholics are in Rome this week for the Vatican's Jubilee of Youth -- an event that takes place every 25 years -- and as the Catholic Church tries to promote its message online amid a fall in church attendance.

"Nothing that comes from man and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others," Leo told young Catholic social media figures at a mass in St Peter's Basilica.

He called on the world to protect "our ability to listen and speak" in the "new era" of artificial intelligence.

The Vatican is holding a two-day event bringing together what it calls "digital missionaries and Catholic influencers" from around the world in a bid to promote its presence online.