Pope Leo XIV says tech companies developing artificial intelligence should abide by an “ethical criterion” that respects human dignity.

AI must take “into account the well-being of the human person not only materially, but also intellectually and spiritually,” the pope said in a message sent Friday to a gathering on AI attended by Vatican officials and Silicon Valley executives.

“No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI,” he said. But “access to data — however extensive — must not be confused with intelligence.”

He also expressed concern about AI’s impact on children’s “intellectual and neurological development,” writing that “society’s well-being depends upon their being given the ability to develop their God-given gifts and capabilities.”

  • aesthelete@lemmy.world
    7·
    2 days ago

    At my job, they’re doing a thing where you have to “create an agent” or you get fired. Because nothing says a great, useful tool like some bullshit you’re forced to use through threats.

  • Lucy :3@feddit.org
    111·
    2 days ago

    Don’t religion and ML have a lot in common? Random data waste (aka. Bullshit), using a lot of resources, fucking children and hallucination, all for a little bit of comfort and illusion for poor humans?

  • EtnaAtsume@lemmy.world
    7·
    2 days ago

    Isn’t the Pope kind of the last person who’d be “goddamned”?

    (I realize that the whole dogma centers around “we are all irredeemably imperfect” but come on)

  • tpihkal@lemmy.world
    101·
    2 days ago

    Pretty groundbreaking. Makes you wonder why none of the previous Popes commented on these so called AI gatherings…

    • FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.websiteEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      The only pope who probably would have had a chance to comment meaningfully on this development would have been his predecessor Francis, a Jesuit - they are the guys who desperately try to believe in the big man and the scientific method at the same time. He was relatively more at ease with modern tech. He was also old an infirm before he was recalled, which is the time when OpenAI burst onto the scene. This new guy is from a less science-minded order of Catholicism. So it isn’t that surprising that he is sceptical in public about it and we maybe didn’t hear that much about it from his predecessors.

  • hapablap@lemmy.sdf.org
    3·
    2 days ago

    Come on Leo, there’s money to be made. This isn’t the time to consider consequences. If I don’t get it someone else will.

    But seriously, it’s a pretty good argument against a guy sitting on $10 billion talking about wealth inequality.

  • Una@europe.pub
    3·
    2 days ago

    I mean religious leaders and religious people in general will be one of the biggest skeptics of new tech so this is not necessarily surprising, but yeah still agree with pope here just don’t think it’s surprising that he is against it

    • tuckerm@feddit.onlineEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      Eh, I think that can go either way. Their level of skepticism seems to depend on their congregation, and more specifically, the culture that has taken off within their congregation. The religious people around me are Mormon, Evangelical, and Catholic. Anecdotally, the Mormons and Evangelicals are pretty pro-AI, with the most religious ones also being the most hyped about it. Every Catholic I know is indifferent to AI. The same was true for cryptocurrency a few years ago.

  • vane@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 days ago

    He’s afraid because people are choosing AI to confess and his income is falling down.

  • jaykrown@lemmy.world
    12·
    2 days ago

    I think the Catholic church should abide by an “ethical criterion”, but I’m not going to get what I want either am I? AI isn’t going anywhere, and nothing will stop it.