# Thiel Attacks Pope Leo's Call for AI Rules, Casting Regulation as a Gift to Beijing

At the Aspen Ideas Festival, the investor said the pope's demand for international AI oversight would only slow the American side of the race with China.

- Published: 2026-07-04T10:44:34.831Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/ai/2026-07-04/thiel-attacks-pope-leo-s-call-for-ai-rules-casting-regulatio
- Publisher: Polylog (AI desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Polylog editors](https://polylog.news), [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/02/us/peter-thiel-aspen-pope-china-ai-cec), [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2026/07/03/billionaire-peter-thiel-attacks-popes-ai-stance-says-hes-working-for-chinese-communists/)

Investor Peter Thiel said Pope Leo XIV was unintentionally serving as a "Chinese communist agent" by calling for AI regulation, speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. His argument, reported by CNN, was that the pope's message cou…

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