Pope points out 'disruptive possibilities' of Artificial Intelligence, calls for responsible use of technology

As Artificial Intelligence becomes a topic of conversation, online and offline, Pope Francis on Tuesday called onthe international community to reflect on the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) and said that the technology must be used in the "service of humanity".

'Disruptive possibilities'of AI

The warning was part of a statement for the next World Day of Peace of the Catholic Church. This year, the theme of the day is "Artificial Intelligence and Peace".

In accordance with the prevailing customs, the Vatican has released the message well in advance of the event, which falls on New Year's Day.

The 86-year-old Pope Francis, who in the past has confessed that he does not know how to use a computer, called "for an open dialogue on the meaning of these new technologies," which he said were "endowed with disruptive possibilities and ambivalent effects."

He said that the "remarkable advances" being made in the field of artificial intelligence "are having a rapidly increasing impact on human activity, personal and social life, politics and the economy."

Need of the hour

The pope "recalls the need to be vigilant and to work so that a logic of violence and discrimination does not take root in the production and use of such devices, at the expense of the most fragile and excluded: injustice and inequalities fuel conflicts and antagonisms," said the statement.

He said there was an urgent need to align the very concept of AI and its use in a responsible way "so that it may be at the service of humanity and the protection of our common home, requires that ethical reflection be extended to the sphere of education and law."

"The protection of the dignity of the person, and concern for a fraternity effectively open to the entire human family, are indispensable conditions for technological development to help contribute to the promotion of justice and peace in the world," added the statement.

In the past few months, many experts have also voiced their concerns over AI and it usedand have even called for it to be suitably regulated.

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