Trump Officials Split Over Pope's AI Encyclical
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum dismissed Pope Leo XIV's 42,300-word encyclical on AI while Vice President JD Vance praised it, exposing an administration split.
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Joe.My.God.Vance Calls Pope Leo's Warning About AI "Profound" - Joe.My.God.
CNBCTrump officials split over Pope Leo’s AI warning as Vatican feud enters new front
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Overview
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum dismissed Pope Leo XIV's AI encyclical in a Fox Business interview Tuesday, while Vice President JD Vance called the document "profound" in an NBC News interview.
Pope Leo XIV published a roughly 42,300-word encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, urging stronger AI oversight and warning of mass unemployment, autonomous weapons and concentrated technological power.
Silicon Valley responses were muted, though Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah supported the pope's moral call and AI researcher Yoshua Bengio endorsed AI serving "the common good," according to public remarks.
Kalshi traders put roughly 60% odds U.S. unemployment will exceed 8% before 2030 and 47% odds it will exceed 9%, and gave a 78% chance AI was the top reason for May job cuts.
The split complicates President Donald Trump's AI dominance and deregulation agenda after he delayed an executive order last week on a voluntary AI safety review, a reversal he said protected U.S. competitiveness with China.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as an escalating political feud that paints the Trump administration as dismissive of ethical AI concerns while highlighting Catholic voter risk. Editorial choices—loaded terms ('feud', 'dismissed'), spotlighting Burgum's mocking quote versus Vance's praise, and expert criticisms—emphasize conflict and electoral stakes over policy detail.