Pope Leo has called for AI to be “disarmed” through robust regulation and limits on its use for warfare, as he warned of the dangers of a technological revolution driven by “the idolatry of profit”.
In his first encyclical letter since his elevation to the papacy last year, the US-born Pope warns that “opaque algorithms”, controlled by powerful private companies, threaten “new forms of dehumanisation”.
Presenting the letter to the world’s 1.4bn Catholics at the Vatican on Monday morning, the Pope said he had reached “disturbing conclusions” about the nature of artificial intelligence, and the need for urgent action to limit its negative impact.