Peter Thiel Accuses Obama, Pope Leo XIV of AI Fearmongering for Popularity

Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel has reportedly accused former President Barack Obama and Pope Leo XIV of exploiting public fears surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their own popularity. Thiel made these remarks during closed-door lectures, with recordings obtained by Politico.

"Many people know that AI is politically unpopular and want to leverage that to boost their own popularity," Thiel stated, according to the recordings. He specifically identified Obama and the Pope as individuals fitting this description. Thiel suggested that Obama, leading a Democratic party he characterized as lacking ideas, uses opposition to AI as a political tool.

Thiel also implied that Pope Leo XIV's focus on AI served as a distraction from the Catholic Church's past sexual abuse scandals. "He needed something politically popular to distract from the church’s child sex abuse scandals, and he found it in AI," Thiel commented, referencing the pontiff's public statements on the technology.

The Pope has recently voiced concerns about AI, warning that it could lead to a "paradise of machines" and potentially undermine humanity. These statements echo some of the more dire predictions made by AI skeptics.

Thiel's comments, delivered in late September, offer a glimpse into his evolving political perspectives. His anti-regulation stance is not new and is shared by many in Silicon Valley's venture capital community. However, Thiel's framing of these issues in religious terms and his direct criticism of the head of the Catholic Church mark a notable departure from his usual discourse.

This stance could have implications for his political affiliations. Thiel was an early supporter of former President Donald Trump and a significant financial backer of J.D. Vance's political career. Vance, who has converted to Catholicism, might face scrutiny over Thiel's criticisms of the Church and its leader. Democrats reportedly see an opportunity to target Vance over his ties to Thiel as they position themselves for future elections.

Representatives for Thiel, Obama, Vance, and the Vatican did not comment to Politico on Thiel's remarks.