Weekly news roundup: Pope AI warnings, YouTube tackles AI slop and Meta subscriptions

Pope Leo warns against AI

Pope Leo XIV made global headlines this week after releasing his first major encyclical, which focuses on safeguarding humanity from artificial intelligence.

In the document, Magnifica Humanitas, the Pope warned that AI risks concentrating power with increasing AI monopolies, weakening human dignity and accelerating inequality if left unchecked. He argued that technology should serve humanity rather than replace human judgement.

“AI is already an environment in which we are immersed, as well as a force with which we must engage. For this reason, merely regulating it is insufficient; it must be disarmed, welcoming and accessible,” said Pope Leo XIV. This unprecedented intervention from the Vatican shows how AI has become more than simply a commercial and political issue.

The story also gained additional attention because of dialogue and collaboration between Pope Leo and AI company, Anthropic. Anthropic is increasingly positioning itself as the face of ethical AI, and its co-founder, Christopher Olah, made an address during the Pope’s encyclical.

YouTube cracks down on hidden AI content

YouTube announced this week that it will begin automatically identifying and labeling AI-generated or AI-edited videos, even when creators fail to disclose it themselves.

Not only will YouTube automatically identify AI content, but it will also move the AI content label to a more prominent and obvious position on the webpage. In the announcement, YouTube says that “these changes are designed to balance transparency with creator control.” Content will be automatically labelled as AI-generated if creators do not disclose it themselves, but there will be no penalties. Monetization or promotional reach will remain unchanged.

More aggressive AI labeling may become standard across social platforms as regulators demand greater transparency and consumer frustration with lower-quality AI slop continues to grow.

Teachers union sounds alarm over AI in schools

In the latest hit against AI, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten called for a ban on screens for students in preschool and warned against AI use in schools.

Weingarten claimed that today’s students are drowning in tech and that there was not sufficient legislation for AI-use in schools.

Weingarten outlined a 10-step plan to tackle these issues. The plan includes:

• No screen time for students from pre-K to second grade
• Redesigning schools to focus on active learning
• A focus on safety and privacy when using AI in schools
• A need for independent research into best practices for tech in education
• Protecting intellectual and academic freedoms in schools

As AI continues to dominate workplace headlines, schools are likely to come under similar scrutiny as adoption rises.

Meta launches social media subscriptions

Meta officially launched new subscription offerings this week across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Naomi Gleit, head of product at Meta, introduced Instagram Plus, Facebook Plus and WhatsApp Plus in an announcement on Instagram.

Extra features will be available for subscription holders including AI capabilities, verification perks and enhanced creator functionality. The rollout marks one of the company’s biggest shifts away from the traditional ad-only social media model to a subscription model. This allows Meta to monetize its existing audience base and creates another revenue stream for the company.

Meta is paving the way for a reshaping of social media economics. Platforms that were once free may increasingly release hybrid services where premium tools sit behind paywalls.

ByteDance enters chip race

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, emerged this week as the latest tech giant moving aggressively into the AI chip race. The company is developing custom CPU chips and increasing spending on AI infrastructure, while also striking major semiconductor deals with Qualcomm.

ByteDance’s expansion also reinforces how TikTok is evolving from a social media app into a much broader AI technology company.It alsogives insight into the future plans of the social media company.

Executive moves

• Diego Teijeiro Ruiz. Ruiz took on his position as CIO at H&M Group following his appointment earlier this year, following a 20-year stint atInditex.
• Nathan Shetty. Shetty was appointed CIO at asset management and advisory firm SEI. Shetty previously held a role as senior managing director and head of asset at Nuveen.
• Ashraf Alkarmi. On May 26, Dropbox announced Ashraf Alkarmi as its new co-CEO. Alkarmi will hold the position alongside fellow co-CEO Drew Houston.

IPO watch

The U.S. IPO market remains a key indicator of broader tech sentiment. Here's a look at the latest listings and activity from the past week, based on data from the Nasdaq IPO calendar:

Disciplined Growth Acquisition Corp.

• A blank check company.
• Opening/trading day: May 27.
• IPO price: $10/share.

Deep Fission Inc.

• A nuclear energy startup.
• Expected opening/trading day: May 29.
• IPO price: $24-26/share

Innovative Digital Investors Acquisition Corp.

• A blank check company.
• Expected opening/trading day: May 29.
• IPO price: $10/share.

Rosa Heaton is a content manager and writer for the IT Strategy team at TechTarget.