Vatican warns about the risks of artificial intelligence
The paper 'is a synthesis of a lot of the existing materials that have been developing organically over the last while,' drawing on Francis' past statements and writings to look at AI's effect on relationships, education, warfare, and work, said Rev. Paul Tighe, one of the people who worked on it. The paper was written over six months by a Vatican team in consultation with various experts, including those in AI.
The paper tries to map out 'an understanding of what it is to be human that in a sense gives shape to the ethical concerns,' said Tighe, who is the spokesperson for the Vatican's department of culture and education.
The paper warned of AI's potential to destroy the trust on which societies are built because of its potential to spread misinformation. 'AI-generated fake media can gradually undermine the foundations of society,' the document said. 'This issue requires careful regulation, as misinformation — especially through AI-controlled or influenced media — can spread unintentionally, fueling political polarization and social unrest.
'Such widespread deception is no trivial matter; it strikes at the core of humanity, dismantling the foundational trust on which societies are built.'
It decried the 'harmful sense of isolation' that AI could generate, as well as 'specific challenges' for children, 'potentially encouraging them to develop patterns of interaction that treat human relationships in a transactional manner, as one would relate to a chatbot.'
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The document cited concerns that AI could be used to advance what the pope has described as the 'technocratic paradigm,' a belief that the world's problems could be solved through technological means alone. 'Technological developments that do not improve life for everyone, but instead create or worsen inequalities and conflicts, cannot be called true progress,' the document stated, citing Francis' 2024 World Day of Peace message.
When it comes to work, the document said, 'the goal should not be that technological progress increasingly replaces human work, for this would be detrimental to humanity.' It should also never 'reduce workers to mere 'cogs in a machine,'' as the 'dignity of laborers and the importance of employment for the economic well-being of individuals, families, and societies, for job security and just wages, ought to be a high priority for the international community' as AI spreads.
The paper also repeated concerns about using the technology in remote-controlled weapons that result in 'a lessened perception of the devastation' from their use and 'an even more cold and detached approach to the immense tragedy of war.'
The paper warned about 'the concentration of the power over mainstream AI applications in the hands of a few powerful companies.' Those companies could exercise 'forms of control as subtle as they are invasive, creating mechanisms for the manipulation of consciences and of the democratic process,' the document stated, citing a 2019 document by Francis.
Francis has increasingly raised concerns about AI. In an address to political, economic, and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, Francis wrote that AI raised 'great concerns about its impact on the role of humanity.'
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This month, the Vatican released a document with guidelines for the use of AI inside its own walls, regulating its application.
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