Pope Francis Warns of Potential Dangers of Artificial Intelligence

Pope Francis on Tuesday, August 8, highlighted the 'destructive consequences and dual effects' of artificial intelligence, calling for global reflection on the potential dangers of this new technology. According to Reuters, the 86-year-old Pope, who has previously stated that he does not know how to operate a computer, issued this warning in a message for the 'World Peace Day of the Catholic Church,' which coincides with New Year's Day (January 1). The Vatican released this message in advance, as is customary. In the message, the Pope states that 'we must be vigilant and strive to ensure that the logic of violence and discrimination in the production and use of such devices does not take root to the detriment of the most vulnerable and marginalized [people in the world].' The message continues: 'The urgent need to bias the concept and use of artificial intelligence in a responsible manner, in a way that serves humanity and protects our common home, requires that ethical reflection be extended to the fields of education and law.' In 2015, Pope Francis acknowledged that working with technology was 'a disaster' for him, but he also called the internet, social networks, and text messaging 'a gift from God,' provided they are used wisely. In 2020, the Vatican joined tech giants Microsoft and IBM to promote the ethical development of artificial intelligence and called for regulation of intrusive technologies such as facial recognition. Seven major tech companies promised President Joe Biden that the development of artificial intelligence would be safe and transparent. A conversation with Dr. Shahram Majidi, who installed the first brain-computer communication chip in the U.S. Meta offers its AI chatbots with different personalities. The FBI warned that China is seeking to steal 'American AI technology.' The AI faction in parliament; the faction's secretary: 'We will align it with our values.' The use of artificial intelligence to extract carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere.