This is the first time that a pope will participate in the internal affairs of the G7 summit.
advertisementItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced in a video message that Pope Francis will be joining the G7 for the first time. Led by Italy, the summit will be held from June 13th to 15th in Borgo Egnazia, Puglia. The Pope's participation was subsequently confirmed by the Holy See.
Meloni, who currently chairs the G7, will host a summit of the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States from June 13 to 15.
Meloni said in a video statement that Francis will be the first pope to attend a G7 summit and, at his invitation, will take part in a session dedicated to artificial intelligence.
“The G7 faces what many, and no doubt, believe is the greatest anthropological challenge of our time: the emergence of artificial intelligence, which not only creates great opportunities but also brings enormous benefits. “So are the risks,” Meloni said. “It will inevitably affect the global balance.”
Meloni: “Challenges that cannot be faced alone”
Francis called for an international treaty to ensure the development and ethical use of AI, and dedicated this year's annual peace message to the theme.
“Our work is to develop governance mechanisms to ensure that artificial intelligence is human-centered and controlled by humans. That's a guarantee,” Meloni explained.
Artificial intelligence has captured the world's attention thanks to advances made by cutting-edge systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has wowed users with its ability to create human-like text, photos, and songs.
But the technology also raises concerns about the risks that rapidly evolving technology poses to jobs, privacy, copyright protection, and even human life itself.
“This is a challenge that none of us can imagine facing alone, and I believe it is essential that we apply the best of the ethical and intellectual reflection that is developing in this field.” Meloni said in a video address Friday.
The Italian Prime Minister added, “I sincerely thank the Pope for accepting Italy's invitation. His presence gives prestige to our country and to the entire G7.''
“This is the first time in history that a pope will participate in the activities of the Group of Seven. He plans to participate at a session that is open to not only G7 members but also invited countries.”
“We need to protect human dignity”
Later, comments on the Pope's participation in the G7 came from Paolo Benanti, a theologian, head of the Italian Government Intelligence and AI Commission, and the only Italian member of the United Nations Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
“The invitation to the Pope, not only as a charismatic person, but also as an interpreter of the tradition, the millennium wisdom of the Church, shows everyone the fact how necessary the Pope is, It is a global and integrated approach to preserving human dignity in an age of high machine development,” Benanti said.
