….Speakers at a Rome conference on exorcism warned that artificial intelligence is fueling new forms of occult practice, spiritual dependence and even online movements that treat technology as divine…..
Catholic exorcists and occultism experts warned that artificial intelligence is increasingly being used for rituals, divination and even forms of worship, raising concerns that some people are replacing God with technology.
At a five-day conference in mid-May on the ministry of exorcism and deliverance prayer hosted by the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, some speakers said the rapid rise of AI catboats and online occult communities has created new pathways for spiritual confusion, isolation and what some described as demonic influence.
Auxiliary Bishop Cesare Di Pietro of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela in Italy said social media and artificial intelligence can foster the illusion that freedom comes from distancing oneself from God. “When AI or the internet help us access evil, we are not protected, we are exposed,” modern culture often lacks the discernment needed to recognize spiritual dangers.
The conference came just months after the Rome-based International Association of Exorcists reported to Pope Leo XIV a rise in cases linked to occult practices and Satanism, urging dioceses worldwide to appoint trained exorcists to meet growing demand. Bishop Di Pietro said he has personally seen an increase in requests for exorcisms, which he linked to declining religious practice among young people.
“When prayer is reduced, when fewer people go to church, the sacraments and prayer no longer serve as an umbrella protecting us from evil,” he said.
One of the conference’s keynote speakers, Beatrice Ugolini, an adjunct lecturer in “Occultist-Esoteric Languages” at the University of Bologna, warned that some online communities are using artificial intelligence as a tool for magic and spiritual experimentation.
Ugolini described these users as “technomancers” who ask AI chatbots to generate rituals, demonic seals and occult texts, treating the systems as “ritual altars.” “Technology must remain a tool at the service of the human person, without transforming into a substitute for the sacred. Concerns about artificial intelligence replacing authentic human and spiritual relationships have also surfaced repeatedly in several papal addresses.
Pope Leo XIV warned in his message for the 2026 World Day of Social Communications that artificial intelligence systems “not only interfere with information ecosystems, but also encroach upon the deepest level of communication, that of human relationships.”
Sean Tobin, a therapist who conducts psychological evaluations before exorcisms in Los Angeles, said the constant affirmation and personalization offered by AI systems can leave users spiritually vulnerable, because they lack true community in this digital era.
He compared society’s growing dependence on AI to the widespread reliance on satellite navigation, which diminished many people’s ability to navigate independently. Over time, he warned, excessive dependence on AI could weaken people’s ability to reason, discern and make decisions for themselves.
“Then we’re going to atrophy,” he said.
Tobin said social media and digital isolation have already eroded in-person communities, deepening loneliness and division.
“We’re under the influence of the devil’s own mental illness, his own cognitive dissonance. Still, despite the concerns raised throughout the conference, Tobin said: “I think people are really searching for the sacred again, and for peace,” he said.
