In a bold move, Pope Francis urged world leaders to forge an international treaty regulating artificial intelligence (AI). This call, delivered in his annual World Day of Peace message, goes beyond mere ethical concerns, highlighting the existential threat posed by unfettered AI development.
Francis, himself a victim of AI-generated misinformation, sees the urgency firsthand. He witnessed the viral spread of a deepfake image depicting him in a luxury jacket, exposing the power of technology to manipulate reality. This personal experience fuels his broader concerns about AI’s impact on jobs, privacy, and even human life.
While acknowledging AI’s potential for good, the Pope sounds a stark alarm about its potential for harm. He warns against AI fueling societal divisions, generating disinformation, and exacerbating inequality through automated systems that judge and categorize citizens.
Particularly concerning are AI-powered weapons, which Francis views as a dangerous extension of the “merchants of death” arms trade. He calls for human oversight of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), arguing that technology shouldn’t “promote the folly of war.”
Beyond military applications, the Pope criticizes AI’s potential for social engineering, warning against algorithms that dictate opportunity and erase the chance for human redemption. This resonates with his core values of social justice and compassion for marginalized groups.
While offering no concrete blueprint for the proposed treaty, Francis emphasizes the need for global collaboration. He distrusts tech companies to self-regulate, drawing parallels to his critiques of resource-exploiting multinationals. Ultimately, he calls for a world where AI serves humanity, not the other way around.
Pope Francis’s plea for an AI treaty marks a pivotal moment in the global conversation about technology’s role in society. His message is a clarion call for leaders to prioritize human values and ethics in the face of AI’s unbridled potential, ensuring that technology serves as a tool for progress, not a harbinger of our downfall.
