Face and voice are unique traits of every person and form the foundation of human identity and relationships. Reflecting on this truth, Pope Leo XIV introduces his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, which will be celebrated on 17 May 2026, with a focus on digital communication and artificial intelligence, highlighting the need to protect human dignity in an age increasingly shaped by technological innovation.

Human beings, the Pope recalls, are created in the image and likeness of God and called into relationship through the Word. Preserving human faces and voices, therefore, means preserving the divine imprint present in each person and upholding the irreplaceable vocation of every human life.

"Preserving human faces and voices, therefore, means preserving this mark, this indelible reflection of God’s love. We are not a species composed of predefined biochemical formulas. Each of us possesses an irreplaceable and inimitable vocation, that originates from our own lived experience and becomes manifest through interaction with others," he writes.

The anthropological challenge of technology

The Pope warns that digital technologies, especially artificial intelligence systems capable of simulating voices, faces, and emotions, risk altering essential dimensions of human communication.

The challenge, he stresses, is not primarily technological but anthropological; it is a matter of protecting human identity and authentic relationships.

He draws attention to the impact of social media algorithms that prioritise rapid emotional reactions over reflection, weakening critical thinking and fostering social polarisation.

"By grouping people into bubbles of easy consensus and easy outrage, these algorithms reduce our ability to listen and think critically, and increase social polarisation," the Pope explains.

The growing reliance on artificial intelligence for information, creativity, and decision-making, he adds, also risks diminishing analytical skills, imagination, and personal responsibility.

Reality, simulation, and social impact

Pope Leo highlights the difficulty of distinguishing between reality and simulation in digital environments, where automated agents and chatbots can influence public debate and individual choices, shaping emotional responses and personal interactions.

Such dynamics, he notes, may affect not only individuals but also social and cultural life.

Responsibility, cooperation, and education

To address these challenges, the Pope identifies responsibility, cooperation, and education as essential pillars. Technology developers, political authorities, media professionals, and educators are called to promote transparency, safeguard human dignity, and ensure the integrity of information.

"The task laid before us is not to stop digital innovation, but rather to guide it and to be aware of its ambivalent nature. It is up to each of us to raise our voice in defence of human persons, so that we can truly assimilate these tools as allies," Pope Leo says.

Collaboration among institutions and sectors, he writes, is required to guide digital innovation toward the common good.

"No sector can tackle the challenge of steering digital innovation and AI governance alone. Safeguards must therefore be put in place. All stakeholders — from the tech industry to legislators, from creative companies to academia, from artists to journalists and educators — must be involved in building and implementing informed and responsible digital citizenship," the Pope insists. 

Media literacy and digital awareness

Finally, Pope Leo underlines the importance of education in media, information, and artificial intelligence literacy, fostering critical awareness, protecting personal identity, and supporting a responsible culture of communication.

"Just as the industrial revolution called for basic literacy to enable people to respond to new developments, so too does the digital revolution require digital literacy (along with humanistic and cultural education) to understand how algorithms shape our perception of reality, how AI biases work, what mechanisms determine the presence of certain content in our feeds, what the economic principles and models of the AI economy are and how they might change," he writes. 

Renewed care for face and voice, he concludes, remains central to preserving the human dimension of communication and orienting technological progress to the service of the human person.

"We need faces and voices to speak for people again. We need to cherish the gift of communication as the deepest truth of humanity, to which all technological innovation should also be oriented," the Pope concludes.