Pope Leo’s teachings on AI spark a unique modern legal debate
New papal teachings focused on AI raise legal questions regarding religious accommodations in the workplace.
More than half of Americans (53%) are worried that they or someone in their family will lose their job due to artificial intelligence, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds.
The findings come as companies ramp up investment in AI while cutting workforces, fueling concerns across demographics. Concerns about job loss were consistent across age, gender, and education levels, but Democrats were more likely than Republicans to express concern.
The six-day poll of 4,531 adults nationwide was conducted in the wake of a wave of AI-related layoffs by major companies. Software company Intuit told employees last month it would lay off 17% of its global workforce to streamline operations and sharpen focus on core businesses, including its AI efforts.
U.S. employers announced 60,620 layoffs in March, with AI being the primary reason for a quarter of the layoffs, according to the April Challenger, Gray & Christmas report.
Last year, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC that the Swedish fintech company had cut its workforce by 40%, and Ford CEO Jim Farley said AI “will literally replace half of all white-collar workers in the United States.”
Jennifer Shalhoub, a 62-year-old freelance writer from Little Ferry, New Jersey, told Reuters that she recently lost a job writing letters to government officials to advocate for specific policies, and that she suspects the rise of AI has something to do with the loss.
“AI is taking over as people care less and less about the quality of the work being produced,” Shalhoub said.
AI faces cultural backlash
Artificial intelligence technology is facing a backlash. Elected leaders and even Pope Leo XIV have issued warnings about it, as it can be used as a tool for political propaganda, entertainment, and even war.
On May 25, the Catholic Church issued Leo’s encyclical, saying that what AI needs is “more active political engagement that can slow things down at a time when everything is accelerating.”
Students at the University of Arizona booed former Google CEO Eric Schmidt when he spoke about the impact of AI at their graduation ceremony last month.
The backlash comes as young job seekers struggle to land entry-level jobs.
According to research from Cengage Group, 76% of employers report hiring fewer or the same number of entry-level positions in 2025, up from 69% in 2024. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 42% of recent college graduates are “underemployed,” the highest level since 2020. This means they usually have jobs that don’t require a college degree.
While AI isn’t the only factor driving stricter hiring, Peter Watkins, senior director of university programs at the CFA Institute, previously told USA TODAY that technology is playing a role.
“If companies are looking to reduce resources, AI will start to become a solution to that, but in a different economic climate you’ll probably be leveraging AI from an innovation and growth perspective,” Watkins said.
Contributed by: Reuters
