Pope Leo XIV revealed that artificial intelligence is one of the areas he will be focusing on since assuming leadership of the Catholic Church. The Pope has called on tech companies to “superior ethical criterion” develop a”superior ethical criterion”by which AI should be assessed. This message was sent to leaders in the tech industry, including Google, Meta and OpenAI leaders, as well as IBM. Attending the second annual Rome conference on AI and its ethical issues.
A framework like the one the Pope wants would ensure AI takes “into account the well-being of the human person not only materially, but also intellectually and spiritually.” The Friday message also highlights AI’s rapid and unprecedented access to information.
“Our youth,” he said, “must be helped, and not hindered, in their journey towards maturity and true responsibility.”
This isn’t the first time the Pope has discussed AI; he mentioned it in his first papal address in May. He also recently spoke of the challenges that “call into question respect for the dignity of the human person” in a Speech to Italian bishops (19459032) This speech included artificial intelligence, biotechnologies and the data economy, as well as social media. He is not condemning AI outright. He noted that AI has the potential to be good, and that it could “promote greater equality.” but also “misuse for selfish gain” “foment conflict and aggression.”
the Vatican. The Vatican published the Rome Call for AI Ethics in 2020. It is a document that discusses the ethical considerations for AI algorithms. IBM, Qualcomm, and Microsoft have all signed up, agreeing to adhere to the principles. The Pope’s stance on AI is similar that of his predecessor, the late Pope Franciswho urged AI to be used only for the benefit of humanity.
