Pope asks world's religions to push for ethical AI development; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, July 10, 2024

Justin McLellan, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Pope asks world's religions to push for ethical AI development

"Pope Francis called on representatives from the world's religions to unite behind the defense of human dignity in an age that will be defined by artificial intelligence.

"I ask you to show the world that we are united in asking for a proactive commitment to protect human dignity in this new era of machines," the pope wrote in a message to participants of a conference on AI ethics which hosted representatives from 11 world religions.

Religious leaders representing Eastern faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Bahá'í, among others, as well as leaders of the three Abrahamic religions gathered in Hiroshima, Japan, for the conference, titled "AI Ethics for Peace." They also signed the Rome Call for AI Ethics -- a document developed by the Pontifical Academy for Life which asks signatories to promote an ethical approach to AI development."

Vatican conference ponders who really holds the power of AI; Religion News Service, June 27, 2024

Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service; Vatican conference ponders who really holds the power of AI

"The vice director general of Italy’s Agency for National Cybersecurity, Nunzia Ciardi, also warned at the conference of the influence held by leading AI developers.

“Artificial intelligence is made up of massive economic investments that only large superpowers can afford and through which they ensure a very important geopolitical dominance and access to the large amount of data that AI must process to produce outputs,” Ciardi said.

Participants agreed that international organizations must enforce stronger regulations for the use and advancement of AI technologies.

“You could say that we are colonized by AI, which is managed by select companies that brutally rack through our data,” she added.

“We need guardrails, because what is coming is a radical transformation that will change real and digital relations and require not only reflection but also regulation,” Benanti said.

The “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” a document signed by IBM, Microsoft, Cisco and U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization representatives, was promoted by the Vatican’s Academy for Life and lays out guidelines for promoting ethics, transparency and inclusivity in AI.

Other religious communities have also joined the “Rome Call,” including the Anglican Church and Jewish and Muslim representatives. On July 9, representatives from Eastern religions will gather for a Vatican-sponsored event to sign the “Rome Call” in Hiroshima, Japan. The location was decided to emphasize the dangerous consequences of technology when unchecked."

Pope Francis meets Biden, Zelensky, and talks A.I. ethics at G7 summit; America: The Jesuit Review, June 20, 2024

America: The Jesuit Review; Pope Francis meets Biden, Zelensky, and talks A.I. ethics at G7 summit

"Pope Francis met individually with 10 world leaders at the G7 summit. He also made history as the first pope to attend and deliver a speech at the gathering, where he urged delegates to prioritize ethics in artificial intelligence for the common good. Earlier that day, he had met with 100 international comedians at the Vatican. In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell bring you inside both events."

POPE FRANCIS ATTENDS THE G7 SESSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS, June 14, 2024

The Vatican, POPE FRANCIS ATTENDS THE G7 SESSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: 

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS, Borgo Egnazia (Puglia)

[Excerpt]

            "An exciting and fearsome tool

 Esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

I address you today, the leaders of the Intergovernmental Forum of the G7, concerning the effects of artificial intelligence on the future of humanity.

“Sacred Scripture attests that God bestowed his Spirit upon human beings so that they might have ‘skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft’ ( Ex 35:31)”. [1] Science and technology are therefore brilliant products of the creative potential of human beings. [2]

Indeed, artificial intelligence arises precisely from the use of this God-given creative potential.

As we know, artificial intelligence is an extremely powerful tool, employed in many kinds of human activity: from medicine to the world of work; from culture to the field of communications; from education to politics. It is now safe to assume that its use will increasingly influence the way we live, our social relationships and even the way we conceive of our identity as human beings. [3]

The question of artificial intelligence, however, is often perceived as ambiguous: on the one hand, it generates excitement for the possibilities it offers, while on the other it gives rise to fear for the consequences it foreshadows. In this regard, we could say that all of us, albeit to varying degrees, experience two emotions: we are enthusiastic when we imagine the advances that can result from artificial intelligence but, at the same time, we are fearful when we acknowledge the dangers inherent in its use. [4]"

Why the pope has the ears of G7 leaders on the ethics of AI; The Guardian, June 14, 2024

Patrick Wintour , The Guardian; Why the pope has the ears of G7 leaders on the ethics of AI

"Normally when an 87-year-old claiming infallibility turns up at your door, the instinct is to give them a cup of tea and quietly ring social services. But when 1.3 billion other people, including your hostess, believe he is indeed infallible, the dynamic somewhat changes.

So Pope Francis, invited by the devout Catholic and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, was warmly greeted when he reached the summit of mammon, the G7 club of western wealthy countries...

Sunak held the world’s first summit on AI safety leading to the Bletchley Declaration in October 2023. The UN has an AI expert advisory board that issued an interim report in December and, in May 2023 under the Japanese presidency, G7 leaders signed something called somewhat discouragingly the Hiroshima Process. (This is not as incendiary as it suggests. Think Schmidhuber, not Oppenheimer.)...

Sunak held the world’s first summit on AI safety leading to the Bletchley Declaration in October 2023. The UN has an AI expert advisory board that issued an interim report in December and, in May 2023 under the Japanese presidency, G7 leaders signed something called somewhat discouragingly the Hiroshima Process. (This is not as incendiary as it suggests. Think Schmidhuber, not Oppenheimer.)"

Pope Francis is first pontiff to address G7 leaders with AI speech; Axios, June 14, 2024

 April Rubin, Axios; Pope Francis is first pontiff to address G7 leaders with AI speech

"Pope Francis made history Friday as the first pontiff to speak at the Group of Seven meeting in Fasano, Italy, where he discussed his concerns with artificial intelligence.

Why it matters: The pope has long urged caution around AI, calling it "a fascinating tool and also a terrifying one," during his remarks Friday even as he acknowledged its potential applications in medicine, labor, culture, communications, education and politics. 

• "The holy scriptures say that God gave to human beings his spirit in order for them to have wisdom, intelligence and knowledge in all kinds of tasks," he said. "Science and technology are therefore extraordinary products of the potential which is active in us human beings.""

How Pope Francis became the AI ethicist for tech titans and world leaders; The Washington Post, June 14, 2024

 

Anthony Faiola

, 

Cat Zakrzewski

 and 

Stefano Pitrelli

, The Washington Post; How Pope Francis became the AI ethicist for tech titans and world leaders

"In the same way the pope sought to elevate the urgency of climate change, Francis now is zooming in on AI — a technology he has said poses “a risk to our survival” and could “endanger our common home.”

His concerns center less on sci-fi movie predictions of malevolent machines, or how the possibility of sentient AI might challenge the fundamental definition of life. Rather, he has focused on the apocalyptic potential of weaponized AI. He fears the elimination of human empathy as algorithms begin to decide the outcome of everything from asylum applications to bank loans. He has heralded “the exciting opportunities” of the technology, but frets over its power to deepen inequality within and among nations. Those risks, he insists, must be managed through a global treaty to regulate AI."

Why G7 leaders are turning to a special guest — Pope Francis — for advice on AI; NPR, June 12, 2024

 Deepa Shivaram, NPR; Why G7 leaders are turning to a special guest — Pope Francis — for advice on AI

"Pope Francis himself has been at the receiving end of AI misinformation. Last year, a picture of the pope wearing a large white puffer coat went viral. The image was generated by AI, and it prompted conversations on deepfakes and the spread of disinformation through AI technology.

In his annual message on New Year's Day this year, the pope focused on how AI can be used for peace.

His work on the issue goes back several years, when the Vatican and tech companies like Microsoft started working together to create a set of principles known as the Rome Call for AI Ethics, published in 2020. Companies and governments that sign on to the call have agreed to voluntary commitments aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in AI development."

The Friar Who Became the Vatican’s Go-To Guy on A.I.; The New York Times; February 9, 2024

 Jason Horowitz, The New York Times; The Friar Who Became the Vatican’s Go-To Guy on A.I.

"There is a lot is going on for Father Benanti, who, as both the Vatican’s and the Italian government’s go-to artificial intelligence ethicist, spends his days thinking about the Holy Ghost and the ghosts in the machines.

In recent weeks, the ethics professor, ordained priest and self-proclaimed geek, has joined Bill Gates at a meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, presided over a commission seeking to save Italian media from ChatGPT bylines and general A.I. oblivion, and met with Vatican officials to further Pope Francis’s aim of protecting the vulnerable from the coming technological storm."

Senator to Pope Francis: Not so fast on AI; Politico, December 14, 2023

MATT BERG, Politico; Senator to Pope Francis: Not so fast on AI

"Congress hasn’t done enough work on artificial intelligence regulation in the U.S. to join Pope Francis’ proposal for a global treaty to regulate the technology, Sen. Mark Warner told POLITICO. On Thursday, Francis called for a binding treaty that would ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically. He said in a statement that the risks of technology lacking human values of compassion, mercy, morality and forgiveness are too great — and that failing to regulate it could “pose a risk to our survival.”

Pope, once a victim of AI-generated imagery, calls for treaty to regulate artificial intelligence; AP, December 14, 2023

NICOLE WINFIELD, AP ; Pope, once a victim of AI-generated imagery, calls for treaty to regulate artificial intelligence

"On a more basic level, he warned about the profound repercussions on humanity of automated systems that rank citizens or categorize them. In addition to the threats to jobs around the world that can be done by robots, Francis noted that such technology could determine the reliability of an applicant for a mortgage, the right of a migrant to receive political asylum or the chance of reoffending by someone previously convicted of a crime.

“Algorithms must not be allowed to determine how we understand human rights, to set aside the essential human values of compassion, mercy and forgiveness, or to eliminate the possibility of an individual changing and leaving his or her past behind,” he wrote."

Covid News: Pope Warns Against ‘Infodemic’; The New York Times, January 28, 2022

The New York Times ; Covid News: Pope Warns Against ‘Infodemic’ 

The Catholic leader is urging journalists, scientists and others to build bridges with those who believe misinformation. The world has topped 10 billion vaccine doses but distribution has been unequal.

"Pope Francis says access to truthful information on vaccines is a ‘human right.’"

Vatican, Microsoft team up on artificial intelligence ethics; The Washington Post, February 13, 2019

Associated Press via The Washington Post; Vatican, Microsoft team up on artificial intelligence ethics

"The Vatican says it is teaming up with Microsoft on an academic prize to promote ethics in artificial intelligence.

Pope Francis met privately on Wednesday with Microsoft President Brad Smith and the head of a Vatican scientific office that promotes Catholic Church positions on human life.

The Vatican said Smith and Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia of the Pontifical Academy for Life told Francis about the international prize for an individual who has successfully defended a dissertation on ethical issues involving artificial intelligence."

Pope Francis Says Church Should Apologize For Discriminating Against Gays, Ask For Forgiveness; Reuters via Huffington Post, 6/26/16

Reuters via Huffington Post; Pope Francis Says Church Should Apologize For Discriminating Against Gays, Ask For Forgiveness:

"Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them.

Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labor and for “blessing so many weapons” in the past."