Francisco talks about AI – DW – 06/14/2024

Italy is hosting the G7 summit, which will be attended by many guests including Pope Francis, the supreme head of the Catholic Church. There was applause as he entered the conference hall of the G7 summit in Borgio Egnazia in his wheelchair.

All the heads of state and government present at the summit, seated at the oval table, stood up. It was a table where there were not only seven leaders, such as the United States, Canada, France, Great Britain, Japan, Germany and the Prime Minister of the host country, Giorgia Meloni, but also the presidents and prime ministers of 12 other states, such as, for example, India, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, was also present. The Group of 7 became the Group of 20 on the second day of the meeting.

Pope Francis, Meloni’s guest star

The Italian prime minister was the one who set up this great meeting of the leaders of the Western industrialized nations. Meloni, as a Catholic believer, was very proud to have persuaded the pope to speak at “his summit”: “It is a great, great honor and a first. It is the first time that a pope has attended the G7. A historic day,” he said.

Meloni justified the unusual number of invitations to other leaders from around the world, saying the G7 is not a fortress for rich nations but a platform for open dialogue to discuss pressing issues such as migration, the development of African countries and artificial intelligence.

Holding the summit gives the far-right nationalist prime minister a chance to show that his ruling coalition – which is guided by the motto “Italy First” – is not so nationalistic, and that it appreciates international cooperation.

Pope Francis calls for ban on autonomous weapons

The Pope devoted his speech to the ethical questions raised by the use of artificial intelligence. He did not comment on the war in Ukraine or the situation in the Middle East, at least not in the public part of his speech. Earlier, the Vatican had indicated that the Pope wanted to call for efforts to achieve peace. That is why he accepted this unusual form.

The 87-year-old leader of the Catholic Church described artificial intelligence (AI) as fascinating and terrifying at the same time. He called on the gathered politicians and representatives of the United Nations and international financial organizations to regulate AI and always keep it under the control of humans. He pointed out that only these are capable of making decisions from their heart. “Humans must always have the power to decide. If we take away the ability to decide, we will condemn humanity to a hopeless future. Human dignity depends on it,” the Pope said. Additionally, he called for a ban on lethal AI-powered autonomous weapons systems already used in the wars of our time. He stressed that a machine should never decide whether a person dies or not.

Artificial intelligence is already being used in advertising

Whether it’s the battlefields of Ukraine or Israel’s war against Hamas, the use of AI is a reality, Maria Rosaria Taddeo, an expert in digital ethics and defense technology at the Oxford Internet Institute, tells DW. This technology is already used today to spread false information and propaganda on all sides in conflicts.

Speaking at an event at the European Council on International Relations, a Rome-based think tank, Maria Rosaria Taddeo warned that AI could also perform positive tasks, such as removing landmines. “Intelligent remote control systems can detect and dismantle landmines in Ukraine a hundred times faster than humans,” the professor said.

Greater collaboration with the global South

The G7 leaders, with guests from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, also discussed the global issue of migration and people fleeing conflict and extreme climate events. Western states have announced that they want to work together internationally to catch smuggling and human trafficking gangs. In addition, they agreed that more assistance should be offered to countries of origin and transit, and legal migration should be promoted, as well as the arrival of essential workers.

Appeal to China

The G7 called on China, which was not invited to the summit in Italy, to stop supplying Russia with components suitable for weapons. Additionally, it said sanctions should be imposed on Chinese banks that help finance the Russian war economy. China is also being asked to reduce its excess capacity in the production of electric cars, for example. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who attended the G7 summit on behalf of the EU, said there should be free competition, but it must be fair.

(CP/MS)