Pope Leo XIV warns of AI risks to human behavior, connection in World Day of Communications

Pope Leo XIV has warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence to human behavior and connection. He noted that the AI models could usurp human identities and relationships, influence public opinion, and deepen social polarization.

The comments come as many artificial intelligence models face criticisms since the start of the year. The most glaring one is that of xAI chatbot Grok, which has faced criticism over its use to create inappropriate deepfake images of women and children.

Countries across the world have issued a standing order to the platform to fix its chatbot, with some even going as far as suspending its use in their country while asking Elon Musk to create safeguards to fix the issue.

Pope Leo XIV highlights the dangers of AI to humans

In his message marking the World Day of Social Communications, the pope mentioned that AI systems can reflect how their creators see the world. He mentioned that they can also shape patterns of thought by reproducing the biases embedded in the data that they process. “The challenge is a matter of protecting human identity and authentic relationships,” the pontiff said.

Pope Leo XIV’s warnings are also coming as generative AI continues to make leaps and bounds towards replication. The models are now used to manufacture images, music, and texts to levels where they are sometimes indistinguishable from human-made works.

In 2023, his predecessor, Pope Francis, was the subject of several viral fake AI images. In some images, he wore a white puffer jacket instead of his usual robes, while in others, he was altered in some ways.

Since then, generative AI has been the go-to tool for some high-profile figures, including United States President Donald Trump, who has generated and posted several AI-generated images to his online accounts.

In his speech, Pope Leo XIV warned that only a small number of companies hold significant power over AI development, and that AI tools are now increasing the difficulty of telling apart works that were created by humans and those created using the models.

Pope urges tech leaders to look into AI risks

This is not the first time that Pope Leo XIV has warned the global populace about the risks and dangers associated with artificial intelligence. Since he was elected Pope last May as the first pontiff from the United States, he has consistently warned about the growing influence of AI technology.

In November, he urged the leaders in the technology industry to build artificial intelligence models that respect human dignity.

He highlighted that AI development is part of a larger struggle over who we become when we build systems that learn, decide, and operate at a global scale.

“Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation. It carries an ethical and spiritual weight, for every design choice expresses a vision of humanity,” the Pope said at the time. He called on builders of AI to create models that show genuine reverence for life.

In addition to creating models that show genuine reverence for life, the Pope also criticized systems that present statistical probability as reliable knowledge, adding that the tools only offer approximation. He noted that the challenge ahead is to establish effective governance and called on countries to educate young people about how algorithms influence perceptions of reality.

The pontiff also condemned the increased use of AI in military applications, warning against delegating life-and-death decisions to machines.

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