The Pope’s Screed Against Human Intelligence

Morality & Religion Podcasts

The Pope’s Screed Against Human Intelligence

June 11, 2026

1 min read

Podcast audio:

In this episode of the Ayn Rand Institute podcast, Ben Bayer and Connor O’Leary discuss Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical about AI.

Topics include:

Valid questions, backwards approach
Concerning near-universal acclaim
Dependence on religious morality
Faith-based moral concepts
Appealing to fear and resentment
Hostility to human intelligence
We need a rational morality

Resources:

Ayn Rand, “Requiem for Man,” Capitalism the Unknown Ideal
Anthropic vs. Trump: The Moral Responsibility of Tech Companies, Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, March 12, 2026
Marketing AI Without Empowering Resentment, Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, April 23, 2026
Ben Bayer, How to Build a Secular Morality, New Ideal, June 10, 2026 (just came out yesterday)

This episode was recorded on June 5, 2026.

Image credits: Pope: Carlos Alvarez / Contributor / via Getty Images; Circuit: haydenbird / E+ / via Getty Images

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