Congressman Ro Khanna has called on the leaders of eight major technology firms to clarify how they will protect employment, uphold human dignity, and ensure equality amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. This demand came after Khanna met with Pope Leo XIV during a bipartisan congressional visit to the Vatican, where the Pope presented ethical guidelines for AI development emphasizing human dignity and equality.
Following the Vatican meeting, Khanna sent letters to the CEOs of Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. The letters requested detailed explanations about how these companies’ AI policies align with the principles outlined in the Pope’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas. Khanna stressed that technology must remain subservient to human needs and asked the executives to address concerns about mass unemployment triggered by AI.
The congressional delegation’s European tour included stops in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, where lawmakers focused on national security, economic security, and strategic competition with China. At the Vatican, discussions extended beyond AI ethics to broader topics such as religious freedom in China and values-based foreign policies.
During the visit, Khanna and his colleagues met Monsignor Daniel Pacho, Under Secretary of the Secretariat of State. Their conversations revolved around safeguarding humanity from technological overreach and preventing excessive power concentration as AI evolves. The delegation also engaged with a leading AI expert, covering technical topics like model distillation, safety protocols, and the growing infrastructure needs of AI data centers.
Khanna represents California’s 17th Congressional District, located in Silicon Valley, which links him directly to the technology sector shaping AI’s future. By placing major AI companies at the center of the debate on social and economic impact, Khanna’s approach highlights the urgency of ethical responsibility among industry leaders.