Why Pope Francis thinks the Church should play a part in world leaders’ debate on AI

An image of Pope Francis wearing a stylish white puffer jacket went viral last year, prompting a flurry of comments about the pope’shis choice of clothes and even questions about whether he had a stylist. But there was a problem: the image was a “deep fake” and created by using artificial intelligence.

An image of Pope Francis wearing a stylish white puffer jacket went viral last year, prompting a flurry of comments about his choice of clothes and even questions about whether he had a stylist. But there was a problem: the image was a “deep fake” created using artificial intelligence. This week, the pope is due to make an historic intervention in the debate around AI at the G7 summit in southern Italy’s Puglia region. On Friday, Francis will become the first pope to participate in the summit of leaders from the world’s most advanced economies when he takes part in a session dedicated to AI. US President Joe Biden, a Catholic who has a warm relationship with Francis, is among the leaders expected to be present at the gathering. The 87-year-old pontiff is determined to use the soft power of his office to try to ensure that the development of AI serves humanity and does not turn into a 21st-century Frankenstein’s monster. For the pope, who as a young man trained as a chemist, developments in science and technology are to be welcomed; he believes AI offers exciting new opportunities. But the pope also foresees some grave risks. In a message released late last year, he warned that a “technological dictatorship” could emerge if sufficient regulation was not put in place, highlighting the threats posed by AI-controlled weapons systems and the dangers that technology could be misused for a surveillance society and interference in elections. AI, the pope believes, can make the world a better place only if it serves the “common good” and does not increase inequalities. The pope and the Vatican have been pushing for an ethical framework to underpin the development and use of AI. Since 2020, the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, a body advocating for Catholic moral teachings on bioethics, has been promoting “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” a document setting out six principles for AI ethics, among them transparency, inclusion, responsibility and impartiality.