Pope Francis called on world leaders on Thursday to adopt a global treaty on the use of artificial intelligence to ensure that it is used ethically.
The 86-year-old pontiff made the request in a six-page address released ahead of the Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace on January 1, whose theme is artificial intelligence.
While praising scientific and technological developments that have alleviated human suffering, Francis warned that some discoveries have the consequence of “putting in human hands a vast array of options, including some that may pose a risk to our survival and endanger our common home.”
He emphasized the risks of utilizing AI, including disinformation and election manipulation, as well as making decisions—from social security payments to where to target weapons—for which responsibility becomes hazy.
“In the quest for absolute freedom, we risk falling into the spiral of a ‘technological dictatorship’,” he wrote.
He warned that those who design algorithms and digital technologies cannot be assumed to want to act “ethically and responsibly.”
Instead, he called for “binding international treaties” to regulate the development and use of AI, with the goal of preventing harm and sharing good practices.
“Technological developments that do not lead to an improvement in the quality of life of all humanity but, on the contrary, aggravate inequalities and conflicts can never count as true progress,” he wrote.
Concerns about AI have grown since the chatbot ChatGPT, a mass-market gateway to generative AI, appeared in late 2022.
The European Union is developing a broad rule governing the field, while Chinese legislation governing generative AI went into effect in August of this year.
In October, US Vice President Joe Biden issued an executive order on AI safety guidelines.
Pope Francis has been the subject of several AI-generated photos, including one that went viral, in which he is wearing a massive white puffer coat with a gigantic cross draped over it.