Pope Francis warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) in the first speech by a pontiff to the leaders of Group of Seven (G7) countries on Friday.
Francis described the rapid advancement of technology as an “exciting and fearsome tool” and emphasized the need for human oversight at the group’s annual summit, which was held in Borgo Egnazia, Italy.
“Faced with the wonders of machines, which seem to know how to choose independently, we must be very clear that decision-making, even when we are faced with its sometimes dramatic and urgent aspects, must always be left to the human person”, said Francisco .
“We would condemn humanity to a hopeless future if we took away people’s ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives, condemning them to depend on the choices of machines,” he continued.
“We need to guarantee and safeguard a space for adequate human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programs: human dignity itself depends on it,” the pontiff added.
He specifically urged G7 leaders to ban the use of lethal autonomous weapons, arguing that “no machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”
Francis also praised the 2020 signing of the Rome Appeal for AI Ethics – of which the Pontifical Academy for the Life of the Church was one of the first signatories, alongside technology giants IBM and Microsoft – and argued that AI models must have an “ethical inspiration”.
“In order for them to be instruments for building good and a better tomorrow, they must always be focused on the good of each human being”, he stated.
The pontiff called for political action on technology at the end of his speech to G7 leaders.
“It’s up to everyone to make the most of [AI]but the responsibility lies with politics to create the conditions so that this good use is possible and fruitful”, said Francisco.
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