Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon called on Christian leaders and lawmakers to oppose the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in warfare and support a binding international ban on fully autonomous lethal weapons.
In a keynote address in Assisi on Aug. 24, Bo warned that delegating lethal force to machines would remove human conscience and moral responsibility from decisions over life and death.
“Therefore, as representatives of the people, your mandate is clear: you must champion an immediate, binding international ban on fully autonomous lethal weapons,” he said.
Bo said autonomous weapons pose a fundamental moral problem because machines cannot understand the consequences of taking human life.
“When you delegate lethal force to an autonomous weapon system, the concept of a ‘moral agent’ collapses entirely,” he said.
“A machine cannot possess a right intention; it cannot comprehend grief, mercy, or the sacred value of a human life. It can only execute statistical optimization,” he added.
The prelate delivered the keynote, titled “The Urgent Call for Christian Leaders to be Effective: Christ-Centered Peacemakers in the Digital Era,” during discussions on human dignity, artificial intelligence and Christian leadership in peacemaking.
Bo warned that rapid advances in AI are increasingly being linked to military power and geopolitical competition.
“AI is becoming a swift weapon in the hands of the wealthy and the powerful, perpetuating unending wars and leaving thousands in misery,” he said.
He asked whether AI would become “a tool in the hands of humanity for greater peace or a weapon in the hands of the arrogant and toxic power to inflict more agony on the innocents?”
Bo placed the rejection of automated warfare first among three pillars he proposed for Christian leadership: “No War,” “Peace for All” and “Prosperity for All.”
He said Christian leaders have a responsibility to work for peace beyond private expressions of faith.
“Your faith is not a private luxury to be hidden away; it is a public covenant to build peace in a world tearing at the seams,” Bo said.
Citing Christ’s teaching on peacemakers, the cardinal said the task required confronting injustice and divisions within society.
“He blesses the peacemakers—those who actively build bridges, enforce structural justice, and cultivate narrative empathy across bitter political and social divides,” he said.
Bo also warned that unchecked AI could deepen political polarization, surveillance and economic inequality while concentrating power among governments and technology companies.
He urged lawmakers to impose binding safeguards and require greater accountability from technology firms rather than treat the spread of AI as inevitable.
“Stand up as true leaders. Establish binding legal guardrails, demand corporate transparency, reject the automation of human slaughter, and ensure that technology remains entirely subservient to the magnificent humanity that God has entrusted to our care,” Bo said.
