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Leo XIV, who became Pope of the Roman Catholic Church almost a month ago, held a conference at the Vatican last week focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), codes of conduct and professional governance.
The conference held from June 19 to 20 was attended by world leaders, technology experts and other stakeholders. An attempt was made to draw attention to the social and ethical implications of rapidly developing AI technology.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and representatives of 68 countries participated in the Pope's AI conference. Speaking in the Sala Regia Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the newly appointed Pope held the view that AI is a technology that serves humans. "It will not cause problems or displace humans," he said, "AI should be evaluated ethically and politically based on the overall development of the human world and society." The conference, organized in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Entrepreneurship, discussed the impact of AI on education, health, e-governance and privacy and freedom.
Pope Leo XIV, who was elected only last month, has made AI a primary topic in his initial term. "Your very presence proves the need for a serious policy debate on AI," he said.
The Pope warned against the use of AI for selfish purposes or conflicts and said, "In our society today, there is a kind of oblivion towards human values, or at least the sense of it is being felt". It challenges us all to think more deeply about common human dignity. The Pope said that natural law should be the moral guide when making decisions in politics and technology. "AI is first of all a tool," he said, "tools always indicate the human intelligence that makes them and their morality depends on the intentions of the people who operate them." The previous Pope also spoke about climate change and digital technology. Reuters mentioned that this statement of the Pope is meaningful at a time when the use of AI in various government works is increasing, along with healthcare, war, and service delivery, and companies in this field are valued at billions of dollars.
