Catholic Scholars Oppose Pentagon's AI Demands as Violating 'Human Dignity'

Theologians and ethicists file briefs supporting Anthropic's efforts to limit military uses of its AI chatbot

Mar. 19, 2026 at 10:20am by Ben Kaplan

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A group of 14 Catholic moral theologians, ethicists and philosophers have filed briefs in federal court supporting Anthropic, an AI company, in its effort to limit certain military uses of its AI chatbot Claude. The scholars argue that cutting-edge AI technology that pulls humans further from moral decisions creates a different set of ethical questions, and that Catholic tradition emphasizes that decisions affecting human life, freedom and dignity must remain the responsibility of human actors. The dispute has become a theological clash, with the new Pope Leo XIV calling the ethical challenges of AI one of his top priorities.

Why it matters

The fight between the Trump administration and Anthropic over the ethical uses of the firm's AI technology has raised fundamental questions about the role of AI in warfare and national security. The Catholic scholars' involvement brings a moral and theological dimension to the debate, challenging the Pentagon's stance that it should have unfettered use of advanced AI systems.

The details

The Catholic scholars argue that fully autonomous, massive drone swarm attacks turn war 'into something totally different, morally speaking' and that 'in order for a violent act to be justified under the conditions of a just war … a particular judgment by a human must be made.' They also raised concerns about the potential use of Anthropic's AI for mass domestic surveillance, which they say 'clearly oversteps privacy as described in Catholic thought.' The scholars filed briefs supporting Anthropic's lawsuit against the Defense Department, which has essentially blacklisted the company for refusing to allow unrestricted military use of its AI.

  • In February 2026, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wrote that there are a 'narrow set of cases' when AI 'can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values', including the use of mass surveillance for intelligence-gathering and fully autonomous weapons.
  • In late February 2026, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the government, not Anthropic, should be the sole decision-makers about the use of its technology.
  • On March 9, 2026, the Catholic scholars filed briefs supporting Anthropic's lawsuit against the Defense Department.

The players

Anthropic

An artificial intelligence company that has made a deal to work with the U.S. government on classified military networks. The company is fighting the Defense Department over the ethical limits on the use of its AI technology.

Pope Leo XIV

The new Pope who has called the ethical challenges of AI one of his top priorities, warning priests not to use AI for sermons and calling for media to label anything made by AI.

Charlie Camosy

A moral theologian at Catholic University and one of the authors of the brief supporting Anthropic.

Pete Hegseth

The Secretary of Defense who has said the government, not Anthropic, should be the sole decision-makers about the use of its technology.

Donald Trump

The former President who, along with Secretary of Defense Hegseth, has said the government should determine the destiny of the armed forces, not 'unelected tech executives'.

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What they’re saying

“In order for a violent act to be justified under the conditions of a just war … a particular judgment by a human must be made. Catholic tradition 'has consistently emphasized that decisions affecting human life, freedom and dignity must remain the responsibility of human actors.”

— Catholic Scholars

“In fact, it isn't clear that 'war' is even the right word for it given how different it is.”

— Charlie Camosy, Moral Theologian, Catholic University

“As President Trump stated on Truth Social, the Commander-in-Chief and the American people alone will determine the destiny of our armed forces, not unelected tech executives.”

— Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense

What’s next

Pope Leo XIV is expected to release a major teaching on the ethical challenges of AI this spring.

The takeaway

The dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon over the use of AI in warfare has become a theological clash, with Catholic scholars arguing that cutting-edge AI technology that reduces human involvement in moral decisions violates the principles of human dignity and the just war tradition. This highlights the broader ethical debates surrounding the military applications of advanced AI systems.