Pope backs creation of Vatican commission on AI

The Pope backed the establishment of The Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence following a May 3 audience with Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. A rescript signed by the Pope was released on May 16.

The Commission has come about because of several factors, including “the development in recent decades of the phenomenon of artificial intelligence and the most recent accelerations in its widespread use; its potential effects on human beings and on humanity as a whole; the Church’s concern for the dignity of every human person, especially in relation to their integral development”.

The Commission is made up of representatives from seven Vatican bodies: the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Communication, the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

One of these institutions will be in charge of coordinating the Commission for one-year terms, which can be renewed, and the Pope then decides the next body that will lead the work.

The rescript text explained that “it is the responsibility of the coordinating institution to facilitate collaboration and the exchange of information among group members regarding activities and projects related to artificial intelligence, including policies on its use within the Holy See, while promoting dialogue, communion and participation”.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development will coordinate the work of the Commission for the first year.

Pope Leo is believed to be preparing to release his first encyclical, which is expected to emphasise the need for an ethics-based approach to the technology that prioritises human dignity and peace, the Associated Press reported.

Pope Leo is understood to have signed his encyclical 135 years to the day after his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, dated his most important encyclical, Rerum Novarum (Of New Things), which became the foundation of modern Catholic social thought.

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Pope approves creation of Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence (By Isabella H. de Carvalho/Vatican News)

Pope creates artificial intelligence study group as Vatican prepares to release his first encyclical (Associated Press/National Catholic Reporter)