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With the death of Pope Francis, the Church’s interest in Artificial Intelligence and the challenges this new technology could pose to humanity in the near future has not died down. The presence of the former Pontiff on the panel on AI at the recent G7 summit organised in Italy last June, as well as the documents published by the Vatican at the beginning of the year, indicate the presence of a deep reflection in the Church’s leadership precisely to try to investigate, identify and establish what the limits and peculiarities of this new technology are. Of course, from the Church’s and the pontiff’s point of view, the interest is also linked to the ethical implications that Artificial Intelligence brings with it, also in terms of information and widespread knowledge. Now, among the many similarities that have been emerging in recent weeks between Pope Francis and his successor to the papal throne, there is certainly an interest in this technology, so much so as to make it almost a cornerstone of his pontificate, aimed at outlining a path to follow in interacting with AI and the challenges it will present to us.
FROM THE REVOLUTION OF RERUM NOVARUM TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A desire, that of dealing with Artificial Intelligence, which the Holy Father also recalled in the choice of the name Leo XIV. The Pontiff’s gaze is on the historical conjuncture that his predecessor Leo XIII faced. Author of the very important encyclical Rerum Novarum published on 15 May 1891, this pontiff addressed the social question in the very difficult and unprecedented context of the first great industrial revolution. The parallelism underlying the choice of name lies in the challenges we face today, with the Church having to be ready to pass on its social teaching in order to understand and govern this new ‘industrial revolution’ linked to developments in Artificial Intelligence. Unprecedented challenges that are ready to confront humanity with issues such as ethics, justice and, more banally, work. A real parallel is thus being established between the social challenges of the late 19th century and those of today.
LET US NOT FORGET THE ALGORETHICS OF POPE FRANCIS
In any case, the starting point for any reflection that may be advanced by Leo XIV cannot disregard the central points expressed in recent years by his predecessor. As already mentioned, Pope Francis attended the G7 summit last June – the first time for a pontiff – with a long and highly anticipated speech on the challenges of Artificial Intelligence. It was a lucid and timely speech that I had the pleasure of listening to again before writing this brief analysis and which, in all likelihood, I will return to several times over the next few years. A starting point, then, a pivotal moment after which we must face the new challenges without forgetting what the essential elements and guidelines are to orient oneself in such an elusive and, at the same time, fascinating technological landscape. Bergoglio himself spoke of AI as a tool that is ‘fascinating and tremendous’ at the same time, placed in human hands as the fruit of their God-given creative potential. A tool that places human beings in the difficult task of defining themselves, with the risk of doing so only as something other than Artificial Intelligence. This is why human dignity must still be placed at the centre of development, so as to be the focus of a new, widely shared ethical proposal. At this juncture, Pope Francis launched a concept during his pontificate that is surely inspiring: that of ‘algorethics’. Expressed for the first time on the occasion of the signing, in 2020, of the ‘Rome call for AI ethics’, it conveys the need, increasingly felt by now, to achieve an ethical moderation of the algorithms underlying the new technologies.
A HIERARCHY OF VALUES TO BE SHARED
In order to achieve the ethical moderation of algorithms enunciated by Pope Francis, however, it will be necessary to identify a hierarchy of values that can be shared among all players. This is a challenge launched by Bergoglio last June to the seven greats of the planet, but one that will certainly have to be taken up by his successor Leo XIV. Shared principles, therefore, that can be a key and guide in discerning and dispelling the ethical and ideological dilemmas that humanity will surely come up against in the development of Artificial Intelligence. Leo XIV took his cue from Pope Francis’ conviction that we are on the threshold of a veritable cognitive-industrial revolution characterised by truly epochal transformations. This conjuncture may be the harbinger of enormous scientific and technological progress, at the risk, however, of a disproportionate increase in extreme social injustice. The issue is, therefore, one of equality in access to these technologies as well as in governing the ethical and moral principles that direct them. An AI devoted only to economic development while neglecting social principles dear (not only) to Church doctrine, will certainly not be able to have an egalitarian approach when dealing with its required functions. A technology, on the other hand, that can contain an algorithm developed with ethics and shared principles in mind, will be far more accessible and socially egalitarian. The pooling of knowledge, perhaps with the creation of a common development pole, might be the best way forward. All to avoid this technology ending up being the exclusive preserve of large private companies that would have little interest in developing the social and ethical sides of this process, without forgetting issues such as privacy and data protection, which would be better protected if Artificial Intelligence were developed according to defined and shared ethical principles.
A ROLE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION
What can ultimately be the role of the European Union in this process and how can this be stimulated and, to some extent, guided by the commitment of the Church and the Pontiff on the ethical and moral aspects of these new technologies? Surely it would be useful for the EU to build a large common space for sharing data and infrastructures, a space that could also be at the service of the development of AI. Something that has also been proposed, in various terms and in recent reports, by Draghi and Letta and that could go hand in hand with the development of that algorethics envisaged by Pope Francis. A space to create a European model of Artificial Intelligence that is above all social and morally adherent to the shared principles and cornerstones of the European Union. As mentioned above, this new Artificial Intelligence should not be aimed solely at the pursuit of economic development, but should focus above all on the social aspect, thus seeking to overcome that dichotomy between countries and classes that could be at the root of social imbalances of the future. The EU could, therefore, aim precisely at facilitating access to this technology for everyone. There is one aspect that I find very interesting when talking about AI and its diffusion among citizens. It is the 2023 data that have been released by the European Commission on the digital literacy of EU citizens. These data give an average digital literacy rate of 6.2 out of 10. Therefore, with the aim of raising this index, the European Union must realise how important it could be to study and implement real digital literacy campaigns to train citizens of all ages and from all walks of life, not only in the use of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, but also in the development of basic digital skills. A process that should gradually become more and more part of the school curriculum, with education programmes that could take up ethical issues, computer literacy and new technologies at the same time.