Proudly Human, an Australian firm led by former chief scientist Dr. Alan Finkel, completed an analysis of Pope Leo XIV’s speeches and writings and determined they were created by humans rather than artificial intelligence. The certification came shortly after the pontiff’s encyclical in May raised concerns about AI’s potential dangers.
The pope’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, cautioned against allowing artificial intelligence to dominate humanity and called for the technology to be human-friendly, widely accessible, and subject to open discussion. The company’s review was conducted in partnership with the Australian Catholic University, the pope’s publisher, and officials from the Vatican. Finkel reported high confidence in the outcome and noted that the certification process was completed within a single day.
Proudly Human’s verification process requires authors or their representatives to register on the platform, complete identity verification, and declare compliance with minimum standards that prohibit using AI to generate initial drafts or individual sentences and paragraphs. The company employs multiple AI detection tools that examine various aspects of writing and grammar patterns, along with proprietary algorithms to assess authenticity.
Finkel emphasized that transparency regarding AI use in written works represents a fundamental right for readers, particularly in contexts involving religious authority and guidance. He expressed hope that such certifications could provide clarity to the public without requiring government regulation mandating disclosure of AI involvement in content creation. Australian Catholic University leadership stated that the certification offered valuable confirmation of human authorship amid the rapid generation of online content.