Pope Leo XIV just dropped a major warning on AI’s impact on kids. Speaking at an AI and ethics conference, the pontiff said AI risks wrecking young people’s cognitive, emotional, and moral growth.
He didn’t go deep but the message is clear: this isn’t just a tech issue. It’s about how AI is rewiring developing brains, draining focus, empathy, creativity, and even spiritual growth.
The Pope called out AI for engineering addiction through dopamine-driven algorithms. Kids are prime targets. Their brains are still developing and artificial reward loops are reshaping them permanently. 
Attention spans are tanking. Patience, boredom, reflection? Gone. Brain scans show structural changes in children hooked on digital tech. Terms like “digital dementia” and “continuous partial attention” aren’t exaggerations.
AI also harms real human connection. Artificial companions mimic friendship but lack complexity, conflict, and growth. Kids grow disillusioned with people who can’t match AI’s smooth emotional feedback. Mental health stats confirm soaring loneliness, anxiety, and depression in digitally engaged teens.
The spiritual side is key. AI doles out instant certainty. It kills wonder, tolerance for ambiguity, and spiritual wrestling. Kids get info overload without reflection. The “Google effect” means remembering answers less and relying on search more — AI accelerates this.
Creativity takes a hit too. AI skips the struggle, handing out ready-made art and writing. That deletes the hard work and growth that builds confidence and imagination. Kids become curators, not creators, dependent on machines.
The Pope’s short warning packs a punch: AI is dismantling human ability to think, feel, wonder, and create. It’s not just screen time. It’s a slow erosion of mind and soul.
He urged parents and educators to fight back—protect boredom, silence, challenge, and model real focus. If adults stay hooked, kids follow.
Pope Leo XIV raised the alarm. Now it’s on us to listen.
“AI threatens the spiritual development of young people.”
“Children raised on instant answers don’t learn to wrestle with mystery – they learn to avoid it.”
“Remove the hard work of creation and you remove the foundation of intellectual confidence.”
“We are building minds that can’t sit still, can’t think deeply and can’t bear silence.”
