Did the Pope use AI to write about the dangers of AI?

An online analysis suggests that Pope Leo XIV might have leaned on artificial intelligence to pen sections of his latest encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which tackles AI’s impact on humanity. Linch Zhang posted the findings on the LessWrong forum, citing the AI detector Pangram.

According to Zhang, Pangram labeled some paragraphs as 40 percent to fully AI‑generated. The detector also picked up a pattern of frequent use of the word “genuinely,” a trait Zhang notes matches writing style seen from Anthropic’s Claude model.

Zhang compared the new encyclical to previous papal documents and found the word “genuinely” appears far more often this time, hinting at possible AI involvement. The analysis points to a shift in linguistic fingerprints that detection tools can spot.

Another contributor ran the text section by section through the same detector and reported that 62 percent of the first portion flagged as AI‑written. The exact segment wasn’t fully detailed, but the numbers reinforce the initial claim.

If true, the Pope’s use of AI would be a high‑visibility example of the technology’s reach into traditionally human‑only domains. It raises questions for professionals who rely on AI for drafting reports, marketing copy, or policy briefs.

For AI practitioners, the story underscores the growing importance of reliable detection tools and the ethical conversations around transparency. Knowing when a machine helped shape influential text can affect trust, compliance, and the way we integrate AI into our workflow.