Pope to join G7 discussion on artificial intelligence

Pope Francis will participate in a G7 “outreach” discussion on artificial intelligence when the leaders of the world’s leading industrialised nations countries meet in southern Italy in mid-June. Source: NCR Online.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the Pope’s attendance on her X social media account on Friday. 

“This is the first time a pontiff is participating in the work of the Group of Seven and this can only bring prestige to Italy and the entire G7,” Ms Meloni wrote on X in a posting that included a video announcement.

Ms Meloni, US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK, along with officials of the EU are scheduled to meet on June 13-15 at the Borgo Egnazia hotel in Puglia.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Pope Francis’ intention to participate and said he believed the Pope would attend the meeting, not just send a message.

In her video announcement, Ms Meloni called artificial intelligence “the greatest anthropological challenge of our time,” and one requiring legal mechanisms to ensure it is “human-centered and human-controlled”.

She said that in discussing the issue, she would like the government leaders to benefit from the ethical reflections that the Vatican has been promoting since 2020 with its “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” a project coordinated by the Pontifical Academy for Life that has been signed by top leaders of Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and other major players in the field.

Ms Meloni said Pope Francis will participate in the G7 “outreach” session to which representatives of other countries, not just G7 members, have been invited.

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Pope will join G7 discussion on AI  (By CIndy Wooden, CNS via NCR Online)