Pope Francis's message for 1 January 2024 is dedicated to the relationship between the new frontiers of data technology and the challenge of peace. The pontiff warns of dangers such as the manipulation of information, the development of weapons that "hide" responsibilities, and “processes of categorization” that risk making the “human heart itself [. . .] ever more ‘artificial’.” To avoid this, the “community of nations” should “adopt a binding international treaty that regulates the development and use” of such tools.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In his message for the 57th World Day of Peace, which the Church will celebrate on 1 January 2024, Pope Francis focuses on “Artificial Intelligence and Peace”. In it, the pontiff writes that the most advanced applications of artificial intelligence (AI) “should not be employed to facilitate the violent resolution of conflicts, but rather to pave the way for peace.”

In the message, released today by the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff proposes a long and detailed reflection on the new frontiers of science and digital technology, calling for their responsible development and regulation in light of their “serious implications for the pursuit of justice and harmony among peoples.”

For Pope Francis, the development of algorithms capable of processing immense amounts of data, often extrapolated without the knowledge of those involved, raises serious ethical questions. They will benefit our communities, he said, only if “we show ourselves capable of acting responsibly and respect such fundamental human values as ‘inclusion, transparency, security, equity, privacy and reliability’.”

“Nor is it sufficient simply to presume a commitment on the part of those who design algorithms and digital technologies to act ethically and responsibly. There is a need to strengthen or, if necessary, to establish bodies charged with examining the ethical issues arising in this field and protecting the rights of those who employ forms of artificial intelligence or are affected by them.”

The dangers are indeed great. The pontiff cites, for example, “machines that ‘learn’ by themselves,” produced by machine learning or deep learning. “The ability of certain devices to produce syntactically and semantically coherent texts, for example, is no guarantee of their reliability. They are said to ‘hallucinate’, that is, to create statements that at first glance appear plausible but are unfounded or betray biases. “

This can lead to “discrimination, interference in elections, the rise of a surveillance society, digital exclusion and the exacerbation of an individualism increasingly disconnected from society. All these factors risk fuelling conflicts and hindering peace.”

Transparency in criteria is another issue. “‘Intelligent’ machines may perform the tasks assigned to them with ever greater efficiency, but the purpose and the meaning of their operations will continue to be determined or enabled by human beings possessed of their own universe of values.

“There is a risk that the criteria behind certain decisions will become less clear, responsibility for those decisions concealed, and producers enabled to evade their obligation to act for the benefit of the community.”

Let us not forget problems associated with the “categorization” of people. “In the future, the reliability of an applicant for a mortgage, the suitability of an individual for a job, the possibility of recidivism on the part of a convicted person, or the right to receive political asylum or social assistance could be determined by artificial intelligence systems.”

In doing so, there is a risk of “forms of bias and discrimination: systemic errors can easily multiply, producing not only injustices in individual cases but also, due to the domino effect, real forms of social inequality.”

“Algorithms,” the pontiff warns, “must not be allowed to determine how we understand human rights, to set aside the essential human values of compassion, mercy and forgiveness, or to eliminate the possibility of an individual changing and leaving his or her past behind.”

The use of artificial intelligence by the armaments industry also falls within this framework. “The ability to conduct military operations through remote control systems has led to a lessened perception of the devastation caused by those weapon systems and the burden of responsibility for their use, resulting in an even more cold and detached approach to the immense tragedy of war.

“Research on emerging technologies in the area of so-called Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, including the weaponization of artificial intelligence, is a cause for grave ethical concern.

“Autonomous weapon systems can never be morally responsible subjects. The unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making is more than a complex collection of algorithms, and that capacity cannot be reduced to programming a machine”.

What is more, we cannot “ignore the possibility of sophisticated weapons ending up in the wrong hands, facilitating, for instance, terrorist attacks or interventions aimed at destabilizing the institutions of legitimate systems of government.  

“In a word, the world has no need of new technologies that contribute to the unjust development of commerce and the weapons trade and consequently end up promoting the folly of war. By so doing, not only intelligence but the human heart itself would risk becoming ever more ‘artificial’.”

For this reason, the pontiff urges action to take up the two great challenges that the development of artificial intelligence poses today.

The first one is educational. “Yet there remains a need for sustained reflection on the kinds of relationships to which they are steering us,” the pope stresses. “Education in the use of forms of artificial intelligence should aim above all at promoting critical thinking.”

“Users of all ages, but especially the young, need to develop a discerning approach to the use of data and content collected on the web or produced by artificial intelligence systems.”

However, the development of specific rules under international law to regulate the development and use of these systems also appears urgent.

“I urge the global community of nations to work together in order to adopt a binding international treaty that regulates the development and use of artificial intelligence in its many forms,” Francis writes.

The pope also notes that the goal is not only of the prevention of harmful practices. “The goal of regulation” should also be “the encouragement of best practices, by stimulating new and creative approaches and encouraging individual or group initiatives.”

In concluding the Holy Father expresses “hope that the foregoing reflection will encourage efforts to ensure that progress in developing forms of artificial intelligence will ultimately serve the cause of human fraternity and peace. It is not the responsibility of a few but of the entire human family.”

In the meantime, “May Christian believers, followers of various religions and men and women of good will work together in harmony to embrace the opportunities and confront the challenges posed by the digital revolution and thus hand on to future generations a world of greater solidarity, justice and peace.”

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