Peter Thiel Calls Pope's AI Encyclical a Gift to Chinese Communist Party

American tech billionaire Peter Thiel has publicly criticized an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIV that calls for tighter regulation of artificial intelligence. According to Thiel, such a move would effectively serve the interests of the Chinese Communist Party, since AI regulation risks slowing technological progress in Western countries.

Thiel argued that while Western nations may impose stricter limits on the development of artificial intelligence, China would continue advancing its own AI capabilities at a rapid pace, widening the gap or even seizing the lead in the global AI race. He described the pope's call to regulate AI as effectively a gift to the Chinese Communist Party, warning that it could weaken the West's ability to compete with China in artificial intelligence.

Pope Leo XIV's encyclical addressed the need to regulate the development of artificial intelligence, but Thiel's remarks illustrate the divisions such a position provokes within the tech industry and among policymakers. The debate reflects a broader tension between efforts to ensure responsible AI development and concerns that excessive regulation could undermine Western competitiveness relative to China, which continues to push forward rapidly with the technology.

Thiel's comments come as the regulation of artificial intelligence, and its implications for the geopolitical balance between the West and China, has become an increasingly prominent topic in international discussions of technology policy.