He said that AI should be regulated by federal authorities; Pope Leo XIV warned of the dangers that the technology could pose for society.
By Catholics for Catholics
Looking to place the power of artificial intelligence under federal control, President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will sign an executive order this week to block states from policing AI.
According to a story published by The Washington Times, Trump added that he will establish federal guidelines that would decree the nation’s artificial intelligence policy. The technology is increasing by leaps and bounds by the moment; it is also worrying people like Pope Leo, who has said that AI should be at the service of humanity and not the other way around.
But for Trump, his main concern now is to have AI under federal control and not scattered state by state.
“There must be only one rulebook if we are going to lead in AI. We are beating all countries at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 states, many of them bad actors, involved in rules and the approval process,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“There can be no doubt about this. AI will be destroyed in its infancy! I will be doing a one rule executive order this week. You can’t expect a company to get 50 approvals every time they want to do something. That will never work,” Trump said.
Trump’s expected order will establish an AI Litigation Task Force that would challenge state AI laws and preempt them with Mr. Trump’s federal policy, according to those familiar with the order.
Nevertheless, some have been critical of the President’s plan for more lax AI regulation. One critic is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who last month lambasted Trump’s AI recommendations as “federal government overreach.”
“Stripping states of jurisdiction to regulate AI is a subsidy to Big Tech and will prevent states from protecting against online censorship of political speech, predatory applications that target children, violations of intellectual property rights and data center intrusions on power/water resources,” he said.
In November, Pope Leo XIV pressed Catholics—and all people of goodwill—to take an active role in shaping ethical standards for emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. According to a story by EWTN, the Supreme Pontiff stressed that technology must remain at the service of humanity.
He forewarned against systems “that prioritize profit over people,” insisting that human dignity must always be the guiding principle in the development and deployment of AI.
In addition, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said a strong appeal for protecting children in a quickly evolving digital landscape. He underscored the risks posed by AI-driven platforms—from data exploitation to harmful content—and called for global cooperation to ensure that technological advancement never comes at the expense of children’s safety or well-being.
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