Pope Leo Tells Students ‘Don’t Ask AI to Do Your Homework for You’

Pope Leo is giving students some words of advice.

On Friday, Nov. 21, the head of the Catholic church, 70, spoke to young people during a virtual appearance at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis about the limitations of artificial intelligence.

“AI can process information quickly, but it cannot replace human intelligence and don’t ask it to do your homework for you. It cannot offer real wisdom,” he said via a video link. “It misses a very important human element. AI will not judge between what is truly right and wrong. And it won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.”

The pope also said AI is becoming “one of the defining features of our time.”

“Safety is not only about rules, it’s about education and it’s about personal responsibility,” he continued. “Filters and guidelines can help you, but they cannot make choices for you. Only you can do that. These years of your life are meant to help you grow to mature adults, spiritually this means deepening your friendship with God and becoming more like him.”

He also expressed the importance of young people learning to think more critically, as well as “to examine reality, to search for truth, beauty and goodness.”

“Using AI responsibly means using it in ways that help you grow, never in ways that distract you from your dignity or your call to holiness,” he added. “In your education, make the most of this time.” 

“So be prudent, be wise, be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth. Use it in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, how to create, how to act on your own, how to form authentic friendships,” he told the students.

“Remember, AI cannot ever replace the unique gift that you are to the world,” Pope Leo concluded.

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The Q&A between the students and Pope Leo was moderated by speaker and radio host Katie Prejean McGrady, who also took the opportunity to ask the pope some questions, including his opening word for Wordle and noted that she was wearing “pope socks.”

“I only wear white socks and I use a different word for Wordle every day, so there’s no set starting word,” the pope joked with a laugh to huge cheers from the crowd.

Earlier this month, the pope addressed those attending the Builders AI Forum 2025, held at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and praised them for ensuring emerging technologies maintain “the dignity of the human person and the common good,” per the Vatican.