Vatican advisor Paolo Benanti addressed the European Parliament's IMCO committee to support the EU AI Act while warning against the concentration of power in AI companies. He emphasized the need for human oversight in algorithmic decision-making, particularly regarding the treatment of asylum seekers.
The Vatican's intervention signals a shift where moral and religious authorities are now actively lobbying for technical guardrails in AI governance. By framing AI power concentration as a threat to the rule of law, Benanti is pushing for specific enforcement mechanisms that could force developers to build more robust human-in-the-loop interfaces. For the broader streaming and tech ecosystem, this pressure increases the likelihood of stricter compliance requirements for recommendation engines and automated moderation systems. The industry should watch for the European Parliament's response to Benanti's request for a new standard that grants individuals meaningful scope for decision-making when interacting with machines.
The Vatican's formal engagement with EU AI governance represents a broader pattern of institutional stakeholders shaping the AI Act's implementation timeline. In March 2025, Pope Leo issued a papal encyclical calling for binding international AI governance frameworks, marking the first time a pontiff directly addressed AI regulation in an official church document. Paolo Benanti, who chairs the Vatican's AI ethics advisory board, has been the primary conduit between the Holy See and Brussels institutions, positioning the Vatican as a moral authority on algorithmic accountability rather than a technical regulator. The EU AI Act entered its phased enforcement in August 2025, with high-risk system obligations becoming applicable in August 2026, creating a narrow window for stakeholder input on implementation guidelines.
On the enforcement side, the European Commission has been building institutional capacity to police AI Act compliance. In June 2026, the Commission published its first set of guidelines for high-risk AI system classification under Article 6, providing the legal clarity that Benanti's testimony implicitly demanded. The EU AI Office, established within the Commission, has begun coordinating with national market surveillance authorities across member states. Europol has also been designated as a technical support body for AI Act enforcement in law enforcement contexts, while eu-LISA handles the intersection of AI systems with large-scale EU information systems used in migration and border management. Benanti's specific concern about asylum-seeker algorithmic decisions directly implicates eu-LISA's operational mandate over systems like Eurodac and the Entry/Exit System.
Competing regulatory approaches are emerging that will shape how the EU AI Act's enforcement mechanisms compare globally. In July 2026, the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on AI entered into force after reaching its ratification threshold, creating a parallel international legal instrument that overlaps with the EU AI Act on human rights protections. The convention requires signatories to ensure AI systems respect human dignity and democratic processes, language that mirrors Benanti's parliamentary testimony. Meanwhile, the European Parliament's IMCO committee has scheduled further hearings on AI Act implementation for Q4 2026, where industry groups including DigitalEurope and CCIA Europe are expected to present compliance cost estimates. Sandro Gozi, the Italian MEP who chairs the IMCO working group on digital single market enforcement, has indicated that the committee will prioritize enforcement consistency across member states rather than expanding the Act's scope, a position that partially aligns with Benanti's call for stronger oversight without necessarily broadening the regulatory perimeter.
Vatican advisor Paolo Benanti has urged the European Parliament to strengthen the EU AI Act to prevent tech companies from forming industry cartels. Benanti argues that unsupervised algorithmic decision-making, particularly in migration, threatens human dignity. This intervention highlights a growing push for enforceable human-in-the-loop requirements in AI governance.
The Vatican, represented by Paolo Benanti, acts as a moral authority advocating for algorithmic accountability to ensure AI systems respect human dignity and democratic processes, aligning with the Church's stance on technology.
Benanti expressed concern over automated decision-making in sensitive sectors like migration, specifically citing the use of algorithms by eu-LISA and Europol, which he argues can replace necessary human judgment.
The Catholic Church supports the EU AI Act but advocates for new standards that make human oversight practically enforceable for end users to prevent tech entities from avoiding regulation.
High-risk system obligations under the EU AI Act became applicable in August 2026, following the start of phased enforcement in August 2025.
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