Pope Leo XIV has delivered a stark warning about the risks of artificial intelligence during an 11-day tour of four African nations, declaring that the technology risks replacing reality with simulation and spreading "polarisation, conflict, fear and violence." The remarks came on Friday as the pontiff — elected in May 2025, making him the first American-born pope — addressed students and faculty at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital. "The challenge presented by these systems is greater than it appears," he told the gathering. "What is at stake is not only the risk of error, but a transformation in our very relationship with truth."

The AI warning arrived amid a wider political storm involving US President Donald Trump. After Leo criticised the US-Israel war on Iran — calling threats to destroy Iranian civilisation "truly unacceptable" — Trump posted a sharp rebuke on his Truth Social platform, calling the pope "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy." Trump then published an AI-generated image appearing to portray himself as a Christ-like figure, which he later deleted after religious leaders condemned it as blasphemous. Leo's AI speech was widely seen as a pointed response, with the pope also condemning the "environmental devastation" caused by rare-earth mineral extraction — a central plank of the Trump administration's approach to Africa.

The tour itself is one of the most ambitious papal trips in decades, covering nearly 18,000 kilometres across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea over 11 days and 25 planned speeches. Africa now counts roughly 290 million Catholics — more than in Europe, according to Vatican figures — and over a fifth of the world's Catholic population lives on the continent. Leo's visit began in Algeria, a predominantly Muslim country of 48 million that had never before received a Catholic pope, where he met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, visited the Great Mosque of Algiers and paid tribute to the ruins of ancient Hippo, near the city of Annaba — a site of personal significance to Leo, who belongs to the Augustinian religious order inspired by the fourth-century theologian St Augustine of Hippo.

In Cameroon, Leo was met with enormous crowds. More than 120,000 faithful attended a Mass in Douala, the country's main port and economic hub on the Gulf of Guinea, with some worshippers having travelled overnight to catch a glimpse of the pope. Yet the visit carries political sensitivities: Cameroon's 93-year-old President Paul Biya, who has governed with an iron hand since 1982, attended ceremonies alongside Leo, prompting concern among some Cameroonian Catholics that the papal visit could lend legitimacy to his rule. Leo addressed Cameroonian leaders directly, urging an end to corruption and abuses committed in the name of order — though without naming Biya.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope would speak in five languages across the tour, addressing topics ranging from Catholic-Muslim dialogue to natural resource exploitation and political corruption. Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican adviser, described the mission plainly: "to help turn the world's attention to Africa." Leo, who is 70 and in good health, has made clear he will not be deterred by Washington's criticism. "Too many innocent people are being killed," he said on the papal flight to Algiers. "I think someone has to stand up and say there is a better way."