Pope addresses G7 summit, warns vs AI

Pope Francis is no stranger to artificial intelligence – a deepfake photo of him in a white puffer jacket went viral last year – but his concerns about AI go far beyond an unflattering shot and are now taking center stage at the Group of Seven summit.

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Addressing the G7 leaders this year, the pope used his peace message to join the chorus of countries and global bodies pushing for stronger guardrails on AI following the boom in generative artificial intelligence kickstarted by OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.

Pope Francis called for an international treaty to ensure AI is developed and used ethically. He argues that a technology lacking human values of compassion, mercy, morality and forgiveness is too perilous to develop unchecked.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni invited Francis and announced his participation, knowing the potential impact of his star power and moral authority to twin a broadly shared concern about AI with his priorities about peace and social justice.

“The pope is, well, a very special kind of a celebrity,” said John Kirton, a political scientist at the University of Toronto who directs the G7 Research Group think tank.