Peter Thierl advocates for less regulation of artificial intelligence.Image: keystone
Peter Thiel expressed sharp criticism of Western regulatory policy at the Aspen Ideas Festival. According to Thiel, the West is in danger of losing the race for artificial intelligence (AI) against China – also because moral authorities like the Vatican are slowing down technological progress.
July 3, 2026, 7:40 p.mJuly 3, 2026, 7:40 p.m
The geopolitical rivalry between the USA and China is reaching a new level of escalation in the field of artificial intelligence. Like the US channel CNN reported, tech billionaire and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel warned of the global consequences of Beijing’s dominance at a highly acclaimed appearance in Aspen, USA. China does not view AI primarily as an economic tool, but rather as an instrument for total social control and ideological warfare against Western democracies.
Thiel, who has long been known for his techno-libertarian stance and exerts enormous influence on US technology policy, particularly criticized efforts in the West to contain AI systems through government regulations and ethical barriers. Anyone who slows down the pace of innovation leaves the field to authoritarian states.
The unusual conflict with the Vatican
The focus of Thiel’s criticism was particularly on the attitude of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV has been vehemently calling for global treaties and binding ethical guidelines to regulate AI for some time. It was only at the end of May that the Pope made it clear in his first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” that AI must be “disarmed” and controlled internationally in the service of peace.
For Thiel, these moral concerns fall short in reality. In his opinion, waiving regulations or artificially slowing development in the West would not lead to a safer world. Since the Pope’s words are heard in the West but completely ignored in Beijing, the Church is only unilaterally slowing down the USA. In Aspen, Thiel even accused the Pope of actually working “for the Chinese communists” in a provocative formulation that was met with laughter from the audience.
The debate highlights the deep divide in the tech world: While politicians and religious leaders are increasingly calling for guardrails, influential players from Silicon Valley are pushing for maximum deregulation in order not to lose the systemic competition with China. (mke)