Leadership in the Age of Machines

What Pope Francis Taught Us About Humility, Humanity, Money Management, and AI

Apr 23, 2025

— A Non-Religious Reflection on a Global Moral Compass

In a world increasingly driven by data, algorithms, and economic uncertainty, few global figures, whether from a political, religious, or corporate background, have exemplified the type of grounded servant leadership we so desperately need, like Pope Francis.

Regardless of your religious background—or even if you have none at all—his life offers a rare example of quiet strength, ethical courage, and deep humility in the face of enormous complexity.

And in his final years, Pope Francis turned his attention not only to the suffering and divisions among people, but also to the future of intelligence itself.

A Human Compass in a Technological Storm

Before his passing in 2025, Pope Francis and the Vatican released what may become one of the most important moral frameworks of this era: the essay “Antiqua et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence.” While rooted in theological foundations, the document transcends faith. It speaks to the very nature of what it means to be human in an age of machines.

The takeaway, even for non-catholics, atheists, and anything in between? That human intelligence, unlike artificial intelligence, is not merely a function of processing power. It is about wisdom, intention, and the ability to seek meaning. AI may be faster, but it cannot discern why something matters.

“There is a broader understanding of intelligence, which is about our human capacity to find purpose and meaning in life. And that is a form of intelligence, which machines can't really replace.” [8]

Pope Francis recognized that we were not simply facing a technological shift—we were standing at a pivotal point in civilization. And he made the distinction with clarity: AI is a tool, not a replacement. It must be designed and governed with ethics, transparency, and stewardship. Otherwise, it risks becoming a system that manipulates, discriminates, or dehumanizes.

Cleaning House: The Pope’s Monumental Financial Reforms

While Francis’s ethical framing around AI may define his long-view legacy, one of his most transformative—and least religious—initiatives was how he confronted the murky and scandal-prone world of Vatican finances.

Upon becoming pope, he inherited a system plagued by secrecy, inefficiency, and widespread skepticism. Financial scandals dating back decades had eroded global trust in the Vatican’s moral and institutional credibility. Francis didn’t look the other way—he launched an institutional upheaval.

Centralization and Oversight.
He started by establishing the Secretariat for the Economy, appointing Australian Cardinal George Pell to lead the charge. This office was designed to centralize budget authority and financial oversight, moving control away from traditionally autonomous Vatican departments and under a single, modernized framework [4][5].

Vatican Bank Reform.
Perhaps the most dramatic shake-up came at the Vatican Bank (IOR). Francis implemented new regulations in line with international standards. Over 4,600 suspicious or inactive accounts were shut down. Compliance measures were tightened. The bank—long accused of enabling money laundering and secretive offshore activity—was brought into the light [2].

Transparency Laws and International Cooperation.
In 2023 and 2024, the Vatican updated its financial transparency laws and expanded the authority of its financial watchdog agency, now called ASIF (formerly AIF). These changes brought Vatican financial practices more in line with the EU’s anti-money laundering directives and enhanced cooperation with Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s financial crime monitoring body [6][8].

Cost-Cutting and Budget Discipline.
Francis also tackled overspending and opulence. He introduced hiring freezes, salary reductions (including for high-ranking officials), and even raised the rent for cardinals living in Vatican properties. He mandated “zero-deficit” budgets and encouraged Church departments to find outside sources of funding to supplement operations [3][5][7].

The Results.
While not without resistance—and far from a complete cultural transformation—his reforms had a measurable impact. Suspicious activity reports dropped. Oversight mechanisms improved. And for the first time in modern history, Vatican finances began to resemble a modern regulatory environment [9][10].

These reforms weren’t about theology. They were about ethics, integrity, and the restoration of institutional trust.

Beyond Doctrine: A Lifetime of Moral Leadership

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis began his journey not in theology, but in chemistry. His early training in science likely informed his later balance of innovation and caution. As he rose through the ranks of the Jesuits and later the Catholic Church, his style was never that of a ruler—it was that of a servant.

He chose to live in a humble guesthouse instead of the opulent papal apartments. He washed the feet of prisoners. He visited war zones, refugee camps, and engaged in interfaith dialogue, not for press optics, but because that’s where people were hurting.

And perhaps most relevant to today, he repeatedly centered the idea that technology—like money or power—must be stewarded with conscience. Through his encyclical Laudato Si’, he spoke of ecological responsibility. Through Vatican reforms, he pushed for institutional transparency. Through Antiqua et Nova, he warned against letting innovation outpace our humanity.

This isn’t just religion. It’s wisdom leadership.

Why This Matters—Even If You're Not Catholic

Pope Francis’s legacy doesn’t require belief in sacraments or saints. It requires faith in people and humanity as a whole.

He called on us to lead with humility in boardrooms and development labs, to consider the invisible effects of our actions in a world that prizes visibility. He modeled a way of being that every leader—founder, policymaker, engineer, investor, can learn from:

Listening more than speaking,
Questioning more than assuming, and
Designing more than disrupting.

Perhaps his greatest act of humility was in never pretending to have all the answers, especially when facing the unknown frontiers of AI.

The Distinction That Matters

Human intelligence isn’t just problem-solving. It’s the ability to ask should we? Not just can we?

That distinction—that AI is imitative, while humanity is imaginative—was at the heart of Antiqua et Nova. Pope Francis understood the stakes. As AI systems become more pervasive in our homes, schools, governments, and financial systems, the question is not whether they will shape us, but how we shape them.

The Vatican’s call for AI that centers “human dignity,” prevents “exclusion,” and avoids “manipulation” is not just for the clergy. It’s for every CEO building tools, every data scientist writing code, every investor betting on the future.

And it's for every citizen trying to raise children in a world where the line between human and machine grows increasingly blurred.

In the End, a Simple Lesson

Leadership is not about domination. It is about discernment.

Pope Francis leaves behind more than a papacy; he leaves behind a blueprint for navigating complexity with character. Whether you're building an AI startup or stewarding a nation through this modern-day Game of Thrones episode, that’s a legacy we can all learn from.

He didn’t offer an answer to every moral dilemma. But he reminded us of the one question we must keep asking: