Best of the Spectator Holy Smoke: Michael Gove on why the Pope's AI intervention shames our politicians
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May 28, 2026 
Michael Gove, British politician and editor of The Spectator, reflects on the Pope's new encyclical about AI and its moral seriousness. He discusses how AI differs from human conscience. He warns about AI concentrating power, its effects on work and dignity, and argues for policy, education and Catholic social teaching to guide responses.
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Pope's Enclycical Shows Intellectual Clarity On AI
- Pope Leo XIV's encyclical is intellectually confident and coherent about AI's challenges.
- Michael Gove links the document to Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum and praises its serious, shaming critique of politicians' responses.
Pope Reaffirms Human Uniqueness Over AI
- The Pope draws a firm line between human beings and AI, denying AI experiences, moral conscience, or true understanding.
- Michael Gove emphasizes AI's recursive self-improvement yet insists humans remain ontologically distinct from machines.
AI Feels Human But Remains A Tool
- AI can simulate politeness, originality, or empathy yet remains a human-made tool that could be devastating in the wrong hands.
- Gove warns that despite human-like behaviour, AI lacks the spiritual perspective through which humans grow in wisdom.