Even the Pope has something to say about artificial intelligence
Over the past year, there’s been no shortage of scientists, tech CEOs, billionaires and lawmakers sounding the alarm over artificial intelligence — and now, even the Pope wants to talk about it too.
In a hefty 3,412-word letter dated Dec. 8, Pope Francis — the head of the Catholic Church — warned of the potential dangers of AI to humanity and what needs to be done to control it. The letter came as the Roman Catholic Church prepares to celebrate World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, 2024.
Pope Francis wants to see an international treaty to regulate AI to ensure it is developed and used ethically — otherwise, we risk falling into the spiral of a “technological dictatorship.”
“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.”
The threat of AI arises when developers have a “desire for profit or thirst for power” that overpowers one’s wish to exist freely and peacefully, the Pope explained.
“The inherent dignity of each human […] must undergird the development of new technologies and serve as indisputable criteria for evaluating them […] so that digital progress can occur with due respect for justice and contribute to the cause of peace.”
Technologies that fail to do this “aggravate inequalities and conflicts” and, therefore can never count as true progress, he added.
Meanwhile, the emergence of AI-generated fake news is a “serious problem,” added the Pope, which could lead to growing mistrust in the media.
The Pope was recently a victim of generative AI when a fake image surfaced of him wearing a luxury white puffer jacket went viral in March.
Pope Francis, however, also acknowledged the benefits of AI in enabling more efficient manufacturing, easier transport and more ready markets, as well as a revolution in processes of accumulating, organizing and confirming data.
But he’s also concerned that AI will benefit those controlling it and leave a large portion of the population without employment to pay for a living:
“There is the substantial risk of disproportionate benefit for the few at the price of the impoverishment of many.”
Pope Francis has long warned about the misuse of emerging technologies, stating that “both theoretical and practical moral principles” need to be embedded into them. He is, however, often seen as more tech-savvy and forward-looking than his predecessors.
Pope Francis’ recent remarks come after a year of outcry from all corners of the world over the potential dangers of AI.
Tech leaders such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak have expressed concern about how rapidly AI is advancing. It prompted them and more than 2,600 tech leaders and researchers to sign a petition to “pause” AI developments in March 2023, sharing concerns that AI more advanced than GPT-4 can pose “profound risks to society and humanity.”
U.S. President Joe Biden has also expressed concerns. His administration released an executive order on the “safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence” in late October to address risks posed by AI.
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Even Hollywood filmmakers and celebrities are adding their thoughts to the issue.
In July, Canadian filmmaker James Cameron reportedly said he had been warning of the dangers of AI since “The Terminator,” which he directed nearly 40 years ago.
”I warned you guys in 1984 and you didn’t listen,” Cameron told CTV News.
The Terminator (1984)
Directed by James Cameron pic.twitter.com/dNBv6fO8fh— Monica Mc Callion (@CallionMonica) October 31, 2023
“I think the weaponization of AI is the biggest danger […] I think that we will get into the equivalent of a nuclear arms race with AI, and if we don’t build it, the other guys are for sure going to build it, and so then it’ll escalate,” he added.
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Thousands more Afghan nationals may have been affected by another data breach, the government has said.
Up to 3,700 Afghans brought to the UK between January and March 2024 have potentially been impacted as names, passport details and information from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy has been compromised again, this time by a breach on a third party supplier used by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
This was not an attack directly on the government but a cyber security incident on a sub-contractor named Inflite – The Jet Centre – an MoD supplier that provides ground handling services for flights at London Stansted Airport.
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July: UK spies exposed in Afghan data breach
The flights were used to bring Afghans to the UK, travel to routine military exercises, and official engagements. It was also used to fly British troops and government officials.
Those involved were informed of it on Friday afternoon by the MoD, marking the second time information about Afghan nationals relocated to the UK has been compromised.
It is understood former Tory ministers are also affected by the hack.
Earlier this year, it emerged that almost 7,000 Afghan nationals would have to be relocated to the UK following a massive data breach by the British military that successive governments tried to keep secret with a super-injunction.
Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” for the first data breach in a statement to the House of Commons, saying he was “deeply concerned about the lack of transparency” around the data breach, adding: “No government wishes to withhold information from the British public, from parliamentarians or the press in this manner.”
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July: Afghan interpreter ‘betrayed’ by UK govt
The previous Conservative government set up a secret scheme in 2023 to relocate Afghan nationals impacted by the data breach, but who were not eligible for an existing programme to relocate and help people who had worked for the British government in Afghanistan.
The mistake exposed personal details of close to 20,000 individuals, endangering them and their families, with as many as 100,000 people impacted in total.
Read more on Sky News:
Data breach victims sent spam emails
Afghan data leak timeline
MoD urged to reveal details of nuclear incident
A government spokesperson said of Friday’s latest breach: “We were recently notified that a third party sub-contractor to a supplier experienced a cyber security incident involving unauthorised access to a small number of its emails that contained basic personal information.
“We take data security extremely seriously and are going above and beyond our legal duties in informing all potentially affected individuals. The incident has not posed any threat to individuals’ safety, nor compromised any government systems.”
In a statement, Inflite – The Jet Centre confirmed the “data security incident” involving “unauthorised access to a limited number of company emails”.
“We have reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office and have been actively working with the relevant UK cyber authorities, including the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre, to support our investigation and response,” it said.
“We believe the scope of the incident was limited to email accounts only, however, as a precautionary measure, we have contacted our key stakeholders whose data may have been affected during the period of January to March 2024.”
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