The Pope Heads To G7 For First Time To Talk About AI–After ‘Balenciaga Pope’ Meme

Pope Francis has spoken out regarding the risks of AI in the past, and is likely to call on world leaders during the G7 meeting to come together in the creation of AI rules.

Arianna Johnson5-6 minutes 13/06/2024

Topline

Pope Francis is expected to take part in Pope Francis is scheduled to attend the G7 meeting on Friday. He is expected to exhort world leaders to implement AI regulations. This is a topic which the Pope has discussed many times over the years and even when he was the victim of a series of viral images created by AI that were believed by many to be genuine.

Key Facts

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis would attend the Group of 7 gathering at the Group of 7 conference in Italy on Friday, to discuss the ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence in a session specifically devoted to AI and becoming the first pope in history to participate on the meeting of leaders.

The Pope was the victim of AI before. Artificial intelligence-generated deepfake pictures of the Pope with white puffer jackets and a bedazzled crucifix, dubbed”the ” Balenciaga Pope“–went to the top of the charts last year, and amassed millions of views on YouTube and caused some to believe the photos were authentic.

He spoke of the fake images in an address during a speech in Vatican City in January, warning against the rise in “images that appear perfectly plausible but false (I too have been an object of this).”

At the G7 gatherings, Italy is expected to push for development of its own AI technology in African nations. In addition, work is expected regarding what is known as the Hiroshima Process–a G7 initiative to protect the use of generative AI. Leaders from nations such as those in the U.S. and the U.K. are expected to support AI rules that are being implemented in their respective countries as per Politico.

Giorgia Meloni from Italy’s premier minister, announced in the declaration in April that the Pope has been invited to attend the G7 meeting to “make a decisive contribution to defining a regulatory, ethical and cultural framework for artificial intelligence.”

The Vatican also announced that Pope Francis will have bilateral discussions with leaders from different countries including Vice President Joe Biden, President Samoei Ruto of Kenya and India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi.

Key Background

The Pope has been voicing his opinion about the need for regulation of artificial intelligence for many years. It is known that the Vatican has been pushing”the Rome Call for AI Ethics” since the year 2020 ” Rome Call for AI Ethics” from 2020. The document defines six guiding guidelines to guide AI ethics, including transparency and inclusion, as well as integrity, accountability, as well as security and privacy. In the announcement for August 20, 2023 announcement for the World Day of Peace of the Catholic Church, which was celebrated on January. 1st—the Pope warned about the risks associated with AI, stating that it is an “service of humanity.” The Pope called for “an open dialogue on the meaning of these new technologies, endowed with disruptive possibilities and ambivalent effects.” In December 2023 the Pope demanded an agreement between the world’s nations that regulates AI in the World Day of Peace message. The Pope urged leaders around the world to “adopt a binding international treaty” to regulate AI advancement, noting that it should not just be focused on the prevention of harm, but also promote “best practices.” The Pope pointed out that even though advances in science and technology lead to the advancement of humanity,” they can also offer humans “unprecedented control over the world.”

Tangent

Italy — one of the G7 hosts rotating during the summit — became the very first nation to stop AI ChatGPT, a chatbot. ChatGPT in the month of March 2023, after Garante the Italian regulator of data protection said the chatbot was in violation of the privacy laws of the European Union. Garante claimed that ChatGPT revealed payment information and messages to children, and permitted them to gain access to inappropriate information. Additional countries which have passed or passed laws that regulate AI comprise Australia, China, the European Union, the U.S., Japan and the U.K.

Article Source : Forbes