Ro Khanna Calls On AI Giants To Follow Pope’s AI Vision

SAN JOSE, CA – Congressman Ro Khanna has challenged the heads of eight major technology companies to explain how they will protect jobs, human dignity and equality as artificial intelligence reshapes economies and workplaces.

Khanna issued the call after meeting Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican during a bipartisan congressional visit to Europe last week. He subsequently sent letters to the chief executives of Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI, asking how they intend to align their technology with the principles set out in the Pope’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas.

“I was honored to meet with Pope Leo, who has offered, more clearly than any other global leader, an ethical framework for AI grounded in two fundamental principles: human dignity and equality,” Khanna said.

“Every technology leader should follow this framework. That is why I am calling on the CEOs of major AI companies to answer for how their policies align with Magnifica humanitas, including how they will prevent mass unemployment and ensure that technology remains in the service of human beings,” he said.

Khanna, the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, co-led the congressional delegation to the Vatican. The visit formed part of a wider European tour covering Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

In Vatican City, the lawmakers attended Pope Leo XIV’s general audience. Khanna spoke with the pontiff about Magnifica humanitas and praised his call to protect human dignity during the rapid development of AI.

Members of the delegation separately met a leading AI expert. That meeting covered model distillation, safety guardrails and the expansion of data centers required to support AI systems.

Khanna’s letters put some of the world’s most influential technology companies at the center of the growing debate over the social and economic consequences of artificial intelligence. The Vatican discussions also linked the AI debate with the delegation’s wider concerns over China and economic security.

Khanna represents California’s 17th Congressional District, which includes much of Silicon Valley and communities closely connected to the technology industry. (IANS)