In response to the UN Security Council, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher has called for a moratorium on deadly autonomous weapons and highlights the need for a human-centered approach to artificial intelligence.
By Linda Bordoni
The need for urgent measures to ensure that the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) remains fixed in honor of human dignity was directed towards the common good. Artificial Intelligence and International Peace and Security.
On Wednesday, the secretary of Vatican's relationship with national and international organizations warned that AI, which has the potential to advance peace, development and human rights, poses serious risks when separated from ethical considerations.
“The digital revolution, especially in the field of AI, has had a profound impact on areas such as education, employment, the arts, healthcare, governance, military and communication,” Archbishop Gallagher said. He noted that these innovations can contribute to realizing the very aspirations that influenced the establishment of the United Nations 80 years ago.
At the same time, he warned. “If the development and use of AI is not firmly fixed in terms of human dignity and the pursuit of common interests, they risk becoming tools of division and attack that could promote further conflict.”
Seek a pause on deadly autonomous weapons
Among the most pressing concerns raised was the deployment of a fatal autonomous weapons system (legal), which the archbishop described as raising serious legal, security, humanitarian and ethical concerns to the international community.
For this reason, he asserted: “The sacred views strongly support the adoption of an immediate moratorium on the development or use of the law, but also strongly support legally binding measures to ensure that decisions of life and death are under meaningful human control.”
The risks of AI-driven arms race
Archbishop Gallagher also pointed to the dangers of the emerging arms race, including integration into AI space assets and military systems, including missile defense systems. He said that such a trend would risk “change the nature of weapons and war due to the possibility of miscalculation, creating an unprecedented level of uncertainty.”
He warned that what's particularly troublesome is that AI could be incorporated into nuclear command and control structures. “This introduces new, unknown risks that go far beyond the already vulnerable and morally troubling logic of nuclear deterrence,” he said.
A human-centered approach
Therefore, representatives of the Sacred Sea urged the Security Council to be responsible for closely monitoring security and technological advances, ensuring that peace and security debates consider both opportunities and dangers.
“To address these pressing issues, the Holy See calls for a human-centric approach to the development and use of emerging technologies,” he said.
“We should also recognize that certain applications, such as technologies that replace human judgments in the matter of life and death, are beyond inviolable boundaries that should never be breached.”
To conclude his intervention, Archbishop Gallagher reminded his representatives that international cooperation is essential to prevent AI from becoming a driving force for division and destruction. Instead, he said it must be directed towards the service of humanity, peace and justice.
