In a "note" published on Tuesday, the Vatican warns against handing over human responsibility to AI.
In addition to great potential for human progress and prosperity, AI, like any tool devised by humans, also harbours considerable risks and opportunities for misuse.
In war, for example, the decision to kill people must always lie with humans and not with machines.
The document entitled "Antiqua et nova" (Old and New) is the joint responsibility of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith under Cardinal Víctor Fernández and the Dicastery for Culture and Education under Cardinal José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça.
In recent months, Pope Francis has spoken on several occasions about the opportunities and risks of AI.
He called on legislators to take steps to ethically limit the new technological possibilities.