Peter Thiel squares up with Obama and Pope Leo in his AI anti-regulation campaign

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel recently escalated his campaign against artificial intelligence regulation. According to Fortune, the technology investor targeted former President Barack Obama and Pope Leo XIV during closed-door lectures. These private talks took place in Nashville on September 28 and October 5.

The presentations represent the latest installment of Thiel’s ongoing lecture series focusing on the Antichrist. The billionaire frames this theological figure as a force advocating for a centralized global government. He claims this centralized control would restrict technological progress and severely limit individual freedom.

Thiel accused both prominent leaders of capitalizing on public anxiety regarding artificial intelligence. He argued that these figures leverage the political unpopularity of the technology to boost their personal influence. Addressing this dynamic, Thiel stated, “Many people know that AI is politically unpopular and want to leverage that to boost their own popularity.”

Political strategies and religious controversies

Former President Obama recently urged Democratic politicians to develop a clear technological framework. During a September fundraiser, he advised party leaders to build a public conversation around artificial intelligence policy. Obama also recommended that presidential candidates make the technology a central agenda item for the 2028 election cycle.

Thiel leveled even harsher criticism against the leader of the Catholic Church during his presentations. The billionaire suggested that Pope Leo uses artificial intelligence as a deliberate political distraction. Thiel claimed the pontiff focuses on technology to distract the public from church sex abuse scandals.

Pope Leo recently released an encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas focusing on safeguarding humanity. The religious leader consistently urges technology companies to build strong ethical guardrails into their artificial intelligence models. Meanwhile, Thiel also criticized the effective altruism movement by claiming its ideology has brainwashed many technology workers.

Global lecture tour and industry opposition

The recent Nashville talks follow a broader international tour that has drawn growing public scrutiny. Thiel previously delivered these controversial lectures to audiences in San Francisco, Paris, and Rome. Critics repeatedly note that Thiel’s theological villain closely resembles the lawmakers attempting to regulate his own businesses.

Thiel originally cofounded major technology companies including PayPal and Palantir Technologies. The billionaire has become a highly influential voice within conservative political circles. He currently maintains close personal ties to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

This extreme anti-regulation stance isolates Thiel from many prominent artificial intelligence developers. Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei recently published an essay advocating for a deliberate slowdown in model capabilities. Major industry leaders including Sam Altman and Elon Musk publicly supported this call for increased safety requirements.

This article is made and published by Lauge Risom Koch, who may have used AI in the preparation