Vatican CityAI regulation

Regulation Status

• Vatican City's framework is ethical and doctrinal — guidelines, papal statements and an internal commission — rather than a comprehensive binding national AI statute applicable beyond its own offices.
• Vatican City issued "Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence" (2024) establishing general ethical principles and specific prohibitions, including bans on AI that causes discrimination or harms individuals through subliminal manipulation.
• The Holy See has been a vocal advocate for AI regulation internationally, calling it an "imperative" at the UN (2025), with Pope Leo XIV addressing AI in his first official address, calling for human-centred regulatory frameworks at the AI for Good Summit (2025), and devoting his first encyclical to safeguarding the human person amid AI (2026).
• Pope Leo XIV approved the establishment of an Inter-Dicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence (2026) to address AI's implications for humanity and human dignity.