The Pope has been invited to speak at the G7 world leaders conference in Italy and is expected to talk about Artificial Intelligence to gathered state officials.
But what relevance does the role of the Pope have to AI, and why are world leaders (and tech giants) looking to the religious figurehead for answers on technology?
The Pope Is Intimately Aware of the Potential of AI Fakes
The Pope himself was the subject of AI mischief last year when a fake image was widely shared.
The image of the Pope in a white puffer jacket went viral, and many viewers were fooled by its authentic appearance. He will therefore see himself as no stranger to the potential of AI to mislead.
The G7 is a Significant Setting for His Message
The Group of 7 (G7) meeting, this time held in Italy, is an important forum for leaders of the 7 countries present to hash out deals and collaborate to solve global issues.
Although some of its duties are perceived to have been superseded by the newer G20, the world still looks to the G7 for leadership, as was shown during the 2008 financial crisis.
Who Else Will The Pope Address?
Other than publicly addressing the G7, the Pope will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with major world leaders.
The Vatican announced that he will meet with Joe Biden (the US president), Narendra Modi (India) and Samoei Ruto (Kenya).
Vatican Has Previous Advocacy Experience in the AI Sphere
This isn’t the first time the heads of the Catholic religion have involved themselves in the AI debate.
In 2020, they released an 8-page document titled Rome Call for AI Ethics, which lay out several principles for the ethical development and use of AI. Microsoft and IBM were the first 2 companies to commit to the Rome Call for AI Ethics principles.
Italy Were the First to Ban ChatGPT
Italy, the setting for the summit, were also the first nation to ban ChatGPT, citing privacy concerns.
An Italian regulator was concerned that the service had the potential to leak users private information, including payment methods, although the ban was lifted after ws were allayed.
Italian ChatGPT Ban is Another Example of the Difficulty of AI Regulation
AI regulation is complex and made especially difficult given the ability of the issue to transcend borders via the internet.
This underlines the importance of states to come together in forums such as the G7 in order to discuss how to create global regulatory coherence.
AI Advancements Requires Ethical Framework
Regulation of AI not only requires technical knowhow, but also philosophical wranglings of the ethics of responsible development.
Questions about the equitable sharing of the benefits of AI and mitigation of the dangers need to be comprehensively answered or AI might risk entrenching inequalities and causing irreversible social damages.
The Pope is Likely to Call for Increased Regulation
The Pope, calling upon his and the wider Vatican’s experience in ethics and AI, is likely to call for increased regulation once again.
In December last year, he called for an international treaty for the regulation of AI and said that AI should be used in “service of humanity”.
AI Technology Moving Faster than the Regulations Surrounding It
The call for increased regulation in AI is reminiscent of the classic debate around regulation and technology.
Should we, as Mark Zuckerberg famously put it, “move fast and break things”, or should we come together to make sure our own democratic goals are cemented as a priority?
