A charity has presented Pope Leo XIV with a one-of-a-kind artwork as part of its campaign to protect human dignity and define “what should stay human in the age of AI,” an official told News Media.
Images released by Saint Peter for Humanity show the pope accepting the “Sphere of Humanity,” a green Murano glass sculpture featuring handwritten excerpts from his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. The passages address human dignity, vulnerability, solidarity, conscience and the growing challenges posed by artificial intelligence. The presentation took place during the pope’s General Audience in early September.
The gift was presented as Saint Peter for Humanity prepared to convene 70 leaders in New York City next week to begin drafting the Codex Humanitatis. The independent initiative draws inspiration from Pope Leo XIV’s call to defend human dignity as AI becomes more powerful and more influential in daily life.
“We recognize the benefits of AI. We just believe, again, that there is another force that should belong to that conversation, and that other force is humanity,” Olivier Francois, the organization’s president and chairman, told News Media. “The Codex Humanitatis, which is our initiative, starts from that simple idea. AI should serve people, protect human dignity, expand human potential and advance the common good.”
The “Sphere of Humanity” glass sculpture is presented to Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 2, 2026, at the Vatican. (Vatican Media)
“So what are we going to do in New York? We are going to gather 70 Nobel laureates, artists, thinkers, philanthropists, technology and AI experts — obviously, that’s important — and we will ask them maybe the hardest question of our times: As artificial intelligence grows even more powerful, what must remain human?” Francois said. “Before we hand over to machines, we should be clear about what we value most in ourselves. We will try to define what being human means and what should stay human in the age of AI. That is a little bit of the initiative we shared with Pope Leo while presenting the sphere and this symbolic gift.”
Based on an original design by Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti, the sphere contains four handwritten selections from Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas. Among them is the passage: “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human.”
The pope wrote in the encyclical released in May, “Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible,” while warning that “every era also runs the risk of creating an inhumane and more unjust world.”
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Olivier Francois, the president and chairman of Saint Peter for Humanity, is seen standing to the left of Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 2, 2026, at the Vatican. Saint Peter for Humanity describes itself as a “nonprofit organization founded on the belief that every person is a member of one human family.” (Vatican Media)
“For AI to respect human dignity and truly serve the common good, responsibility must be clearly defined at every stage: from those who design and develop these systems to those who use them and rely on them for concrete decisions,” the pope wrote. “In many cases, however, the internal processes leading to a result remain opaque, making it harder to assign responsibility and correct errors. This is where accountability becomes crucial: the possibility of identifying who must ‘account’ for decisions, justify them, monitor them and, when necessary, challenge them and remedy any harm caused.”
“Calling for prudence, rigorous evaluation and even, at times, a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family. This need is all the more urgent given the frequent imbalance between the speed of technological growth and the slower development of awareness, norms, safeguards and institutions capable of governing its effects,” the pope also said. “It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required. Otherwise, change will be governed only by technocratic thinking and presented as necessary and inevitable, ultimately imposing rules shaped by those who control data, infrastructure and computing power.”
Saint Peter for Humanity said in a statement about its New York gathering, “Working across ten groups, participants will develop a first draft of the Codex focused on issues including the future of work, accountability, information integrity, human oversight and the protection of children and families.”
Pope Leo XIV arrives to lead his traditional Wednesday General Audience at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Oct. 15, 2025. In May, the pope released his first encyclical, the Magnifica Humanitas. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The draft will then enter a global consultation process before being refined into a final set of principles. Saint Peter for Humanity plans to engage governments, companies and institutions in translating those principles into practice, including through engagement at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos,” the nonprofit added.