Pope Leo XIV isn't ready to outsource himself to AI just yet. The first American-born pontiff refused to sign off on an idea that would have let Catholics log on from anywhere in the world and have a virtual audience with an artificial likeness of himself.

Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

"If there's anybody who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the Pope is high on the list," Pope Leo told Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen , who has written a new biography about Leo.

The pope told Allen that the proposal would have allowed Catholics to log on to a website and ask questions to an AI pope, who would then respond.

"I said, 'I'm not going to authorize that'," he told Allen.

In early

See Full Page