Anglican leader signs Vatican appeal for ethical development of artificial intelligence – ZENIT

(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 04.30.2024).- The Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Anglican Communion, Justin Welby, signed the “Rome Appeal to the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence on Tuesday, April 30, at a ceremony held at the Vatican.

The document aims to foster a shared sense of responsibility for human dignity amid rapid  technological advancements. To ensure that every individual – regardless of their background – can benefit from these advances, then religions, international organisations, Governments,  institutions and the private sector must work together.

It calls for the ethical development of Artificial Intelligence that serves humanity rather than  profit and resists the gradual replacement of people in the workplace, as well as a respect for  our common home.

“We are very pleased that, with the inclusion of our Anglican brothers and sisters, the Rome  Call may experience a further step of growth. When reflection and dialogue on issues of  technological development meet in a spirit of fraternity, it is possible to find shared paths and  effective solutions to build peace and the common good.” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia,  President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the RenAIssance Foundation.

Commenting on the signing, Archbishop Justin Welby, signing on behalf of the Church of  England, said: “I am delighted to support the Rome AI Call, which emphasises the dignity of  every human being amid technological change. While we can’t predict the future, we do know  that there will continue to be rapid developments in science and technology and we need to be  prepared. AI offers enormous potential in improving human capability. It must also seek to  protect, preserve and cherish the dignity of the human person. The huge advances offered by  AI cannot be the sole property of its developers, or any single part of the human race. They must  be for all people everywhere. They must serve the common good, they must serve the climate,  they must serve sustainable development. So much of how we understand Artificial Intelligence  comes down to how we understand the nature of being human. Let us all work to ensure that  the dignity of every human being, created by God, not for profit or productivity, is central to all  we do.”

Father Paolo Benanti, Extraordinary Professor of Ethics of Technology at the Pontifical  Gregorian University and scientific director of the RenAIssance Foundation, also  enthusiastically welcomed this event, stating, “With this new growth of the Rome Call we can

look with renewed confidence to algorethics, that is, to the positive contribution of the ethical  approach to artificial intelligence. It is never merely a matter of innovation. Rather, it is about  transforming the latter into human development. It is also very important that the heritage of  human wisdom represented by religions speaks to the whole of humanity, enhancing what is  shared in order to address contemporary challenges.”

The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Since the launch of the Rome Call in February 2020, many stakeholders have signed it including  representatives from the Abrahamic religions and the Italian government, and players such as  Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco.

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