Pope Francis cautions against potential risks of artificial intelligence, emphasizes potential benefits

In 2023, individuals from various backgrounds have expressed their opinions on artificial intelligence, either in favor or against it. Notable figures like Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and Yann LeCun, who are considered pioneers in AI, as well as entrepreneurs like Sam Altman and Elon Musk from OpenAI, and even Hollywood celebrities such as Tom Hanks and Christopher Nolan, have all been impacted by this revolutionary technology. Surprisingly, even clergymen have joined the discussion, expressing concerns about the potential dangers of AI. Pope Francis, in particular, issued a warning on Tuesday, emphasizing the disruptive possibilities and uncertain effects of AI.

According to a Reuters report, Pope Francis wrote the message to mark the Catholic Church’s next Day of Peace, which falls on New Year’s Day (January 1, 2024). The Vatican released the message in good time, according to tradition. The Pope “reminds us of the need to be vigilant and work so that the logic of violence and discrimination does not take root in the production and use of such devices at the expense of the most vulnerable and marginalized,” the message said.

“The urgent need to orient the concept and use of artificial intelligence responsibly so that it is at the service of humanity and under the protection of our common home requires the expansion of ethical reflection into the field of education and law. ” it added.

The dangers of artificial intelligence and the road to regulation

In the past few months, many influential people have raised such alarms about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Many have highlighted AI problems related to deep forgery, speech impersonation, the extent of cheating among researchers, misleading or falsified information in the news media, copyright issues in the music industry, increasing cases of fraud and hacking, and broader issues of unemployment, governance, and management. decision-making, data protection and in extreme cases the extinction of humanity.

And governments around the world have also taken notice. The European Union (EU) recently published its artificial intelligence law, which aims to monitor citizens’ data protection, the transparency of data acquisition, and create safeguards for companies handling this technology.

The United States also recently announced that seven of its largest companies working on artificial intelligence have pledged voluntary regulations for the rapid development of artificial intelligence. Earlier this week, India also passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in the Lok Sabha. Although the bill does not directly address the AI challenge, the purpose of data protection standards is to protect users. The government had also proposed that the regulatory framework would also be developed after it was understood which direction artificial intelligence would take.