Pope Leo XIV has laid out the vision of his papacy and has identified artificial intelligence as one of the most critical matters facing humanity.

Leo, the first American pope, told the cardinals who elected him that he was fully committed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church. He identified AI as one of the main issues facing humanity, saying it poses challenges to defending human dignity, justice and labor.

The announcement that an American cardinal had been elected Roman Catholic Church’s 267th pope had special meaning for a group of students at an international Catholic school in Rome