The Vatican has published a new text on artificial intelligence (AI), warning the tool could destroy the trust on which societies are built. It also added that humans could become “cogs in a machine”.
The head of the Vatican, Pope Francis, who has regularly become a victim of fake news and doctored photographs, cautioned earlier this month. Stating that AI could be “misused to manipulate minds,” the Vatican text elaborates on his thinking.
A text written by two Vatican departments and approved by the 88-year-old pontiff, reads, “AI-generated fake media can gradually undermine the foundations of society.”
“As deepfakes cause people to question everything and AI-generated false content erodes trust in what they see and hear. It promotes polarization and conflict will only grow.”
“Such widespread deception is no trivial matter. It strikes at the core of humanity. dismantling the foundational trust on which societies are built,” it stated.
The Vatican released the text three weeks after tech giant Meta — which owns Facebook — announced it was ending its third-party fact-checking programme in the United States. And adopting a crowd-sourced model to police misinformation, similar to that at Elon Musk-owned X.
The text also read, “Misinformation — especially through AI-controlled or influenced media — can spread unintentionally. Fuelling political polarization and social unrest.”
It warned of a “shadow of evil” looming over the tool. “The concentration of the power over mainstream AI applications in the hands of a few powerful companies raises significant ethical concerns,” it said.
Recall that Pope Francis has acknowledged what he has called the “immense potential” of AI. This is even as the text cites medical applications, climate-related challenges and education as areas in which it could be invaluable.
Francis noted that it could also “de-skill workers. Subjecting them to automated surveillance and relegating them to rigid and repetitive tasks”. And the risks being “used to replace human workers rather than complement them”.
The text stated that AI cannot be a substitute for human relationships — particularly in medicine. Where it risks “worsening the loneliness that often accompanies illness.”
It added that using it “for surveillance aimed at exploiting, restricting others’ freedom, or benefiting a few at the expense of the many, is unjustifiable.”
The text also stated that “dangers” of lethal autonomous weapons “demands serious attention”. Thus, recalling that Francis has urged “a prohibition on their use”.
It stated that, “The atrocities committed throughout history are enough to raise deep concerns about the potential abuses of AI.”
source: AFP
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