In Hiroshima, a call for peaceful, ethical AI; Cisco, The Newsroom, July 18, 2024

Kevin Delaney , Cisco, The Newsroom; In Hiroshima, a call for peaceful, ethical AI

"“Artificial intelligence is a great tool with unlimited possibilities of application,” Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said in an opening address at the AI Ethics for Peace conference in Hiroshima this month.

But Paglia was quick to add that AI’s great promise is fraught with potential dangers.

“AI can and must be guided so that its potential serves the good since the moment of its design,” he stressed. “This is our common responsibility.”

The two-day conference aimed to further the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document first signed on February 28, 2020, at the Vatican. It promoted an ethical approach to artificial intelligence through shared responsibility among international organizations, governments, institutions and technology companies.

This month’s Hiroshima conference drew dozens of global religious, government, and technology leaders to a city that has transcended its dark past of tech-driven, atomic destruction to become a center for peace and cooperation.

The overarching goal in Hiroshima? To ensure that, unlike atomic energy, artificial intelligence is used only for peace and positive human advancement. And as an industry leader in AI innovation and its responsible use, Cisco was amply represented by Dave West, Cisco’s president for Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China (APJC)."

Cisco signs the "Rome Call for AI Ethics"; Vatican News, April 2024

Linda Bordoni, Vatican News; Cisco signs the "Rome Call for AI Ethics"

"Expressing satisfaction that the Multinational Digital Communications Technology – Cisco – has joined other major companies involved in AI, in pledging to adhere to ethical guidelines, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, underscored the fact that artificial intelligence is “no longer a topic just for experts” and that the ethics of its development is more urgent than ever.

The President of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) was speaking at an event on Wednesday morning during which the CEO of Cisco System Inc., put his signature to The Call for AI Ethics, a document promoted by the Pontifical Academy and by its RenAIssance Foundation (that supports the anthropological and ethical reflection of new technologies on human life) and has already been endorsed by the likes of Microsoft, IBM, FAO and the Italian Ministry of Innovation."

Cisco wants to balance privacy with security; SFGate, June 20, 2017

Marissa Lang, SFGate; Cisco wants to balance privacy with security

"It’s a common trade-off in cybersecurity: Do you want privacy, or do you want protection?

To be more secure, businesses typically have to accept some level of surveillance, inviting third-party companies to track traffic and monitor network data for intruders, threats or malicious software.

Cisco wants to do away with that choice."