In his speech at the G7 summit, Pope Francis discussed the threats and possibilities of artificial intelligence, the “technohuman situation,” human and algorithmic decision-making, essays written by AI, and the need for political cooperation on technology.
By Joseph Tulloch
On Friday afternoon, Pope Francis spoke at the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy.
He will be the first pope to address the forum bringing together the leaders of the United States, Britain, Italy, France, Canada, Germany and Japan.
AI: Perils and Opportunities
The Pope spoke about artificial intelligence in his G7 address.
He first stated that the birth of AI will represent a “true cognitive industrial revolution” and lead to “complex groundbreaking transformations.”
The Pope said these changes could have both positive effects – for example, “democratization of access to knowledge,” “a quantum leap in scientific research” and a reduction in “demanding and difficult work” – and negative effects, for example, “the increase in inequalities between developed and developing countries, or between the ruling classes and the oppressed classes.”
Pope Francis greets G7 leaders
“Technohuman Condition”
The Pope noted that AI is “first and foremost a tool” and spoke of what he called the “technohuman condition.”
He explained that he was referring to the fact that the relationship between humans and the environment has always been mediated by human-made tools.
The Pope argued that while some see this as a weakness or a flaw, it is actually a positive thing: It stems from the fact that we are beings “inclined to what is outside ourselves” and “radically open to the world beyond.”
Pope Francis said this openness is the root of our “technohuman condition”, but also of our openness to others and to God, as well as the root of our artistic and intellectual creativity.
Pope speaking at the G7
Decision making: humans vs. machines
The Pope then turned to the issue of decision-making.
He said AI can make “algorithmic selection”, that is, “a 'technical' choice among several possibilities based on clearly defined criteria or statistical inference.”
However, humans “not only have the ability to choose, but also to make decisions in their minds.”
The Pope explained that this is because they possess what the ancient Greeks called “wisdom.” Phronesis (a type of intelligence that is involved in practical action) and the ability to hear the Bible.
It is therefore crucial, the Pope stressed, that important decisions “must always be left to man”.
As an example of this principle, the Pope pointed to the development of lethal autonomous weapons that can take human life without human intervention, which he said must ultimately be banned.
Algorithms are “neither objective nor neutral”
The Pope also stressed that the algorithms that artificial intelligence uses to make choices are “neither objective nor neutral.”
He pointed to algorithms designed to help judges decide whether to grant house arrest to prison inmates. He said these programs base their decisions on data such as the type of crime, behavior in prison, psychological evaluations, and the inmate's ethnic origin, education history, and credit rating.
But the Pope stressed that this was a simplification: “Humans are constantly growing and can surprise us with their behavior, something that machines cannot take into account.”
A further problem, the Pope stressed, is that algorithms “can only examine a reality that is numerically formalized.”
Pope speaks to G7
AI-generated essays
The Pope then reflected on the fact that many students are increasingly using AI to help them with their studies, especially essay writing.
Pope said people often forget that “strictly speaking, so-called generative artificial intelligence is not actually 'generative'” – it does not “develop new analyses or concepts” but “repeats what it finds, giving it an appealing form.”
The Pope said this risked “undermining the educational process itself.”
Education, he stressed, should provide an opportunity for “real reflection” but instead “risks becoming the repetition of concepts which, precisely because they are repeated, are increasingly valued as uncontroversial.”
Towards “Algorithmic Ethics”
At the end of his speech, the Pope stressed that AI will always be shaped by “the worldview of those who invent and develop it.”
What is particularly worrying in this regard, he said, is that today “it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach agreement on major issues concerning social life,” meaning there is less and less agreement on the philosophy that should shape artificial intelligence.
What is needed, therefore, the Pope said, is an “algorithmic ethics” – the development of a set of “global and pluralistic” principles that “can attract the support of cultures, religions, international organizations and large companies.”
“If we struggle to define a single set of global values, we can at least find common principles for meeting and resolving dilemmas and conflicts about how to live our lives,” the Pope said.
Pope listens to new G7 interventions
Necessary politics
Faced with this challenge, the Pope said, “political action is urgently needed.”
“Only a healthy politics, involving the most diverse disciplines and skills, can face the challenges and possibilities of artificial intelligence,” the Pope stressed.
The goal, Pope Francis concluded, is not to “stifle human creativity and the ideal of progress” but to “direct their energies in new directions.”
The full text of the Pope's address to the G7 can be seen here.
