Anthropic's Chris Olah at Vatican after Pope's historic AI encyclical

Chris Olah, a cofounder of Anthropic and known atheist, took the stage at the Vatican following Pope Leo's historic AI encyclical. In a striking admission, he said that every frontier AI lab operates under incentives that can conflict with doing the right thing—providing direct validation of the Pope's warning that the industry needs external pressure and internal restraint. Olah's presence was years in the making, rooted in the Vatican's Minerva Dialogues, which have courted tech figures since 2016. Catholic ethicists from Santa Clara University, including Brian Patrick Green and pastor Brendan McGuire, had previously influenced Anthropic's Claude constitution, sending Olah a 28-page commentary. Their input is credited in the document.

The encyclical, 'Magnifica Humanitas,' does not aim to halt AI development outright but rather to create dialogue and generate a sense of shame among builders who know the outcome may be terrible. Pope Leo warns against a future where a privileged few enjoy abundance while the mass of humanity suffers under AI's unforgiving efficiency and surveillance. The Vatican's strategy—engaging insiders like Olah while issuing moral calls—mirrors its past efforts on climate change. The speech highlights growing institutional pressure on the AI industry to consider ethical guardrails, especially as Anthropic reportedly eyes a public offering.