World religious leaders sign Catholic document on AI

On July 9 and 10, 16 representatives of most of the world’s religions meet in Hiroshima (Japan) to adhere to Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document where the Catholic Church calls for “transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality, reliability, security and privacy” in the use of artificial intelligence.

The event, called AI Ethics for Peace, is promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life. In his opening speech, Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Academy, assured that all religions are called to work for the benefit of humanity in all areas of life and that, consequently, this also includes “every “new instrument that technological progress puts at our disposal.”

Precisely regarding artificial intelligence, Bishop Paglia stated that it must be guided so that it “serves good from the moment of its design.”

“This is our common responsibility and in this shared effort we can rediscover true brotherhood. In Hiroshima, a place of very high symbolic value, we strongly invoke peace and ask that technology be an engine of peace and reconciliation between peoples,” she said.

“We are here, together, to say out loud that staying united and acting together is the only possible solution,” added the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The organization of the event explained that the decision to hold it in Hiroshima has “a deep symbolic meaning,” because no other city on the planet witnesses like it the consequences of technology used for evil, death and destruction. The city’s history, she adds, highlights “the need for a lasting search for peace.”

Father Paolo Benanti, professor of Ethics of Technology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, presented a text that delves into the challenges that generative AI presents to society.

The document, titled Hiroshima Addendum on Generative AI, It focuses on “ethical governance” of new technology and the necessary “sustained commitment” of all parties involved in its development, so that it is always used for the benefit of humanity.

“With its profound place in human history, Hiroshima serves as a compelling backdrop to help ensure that a technology created by humanity serves all of humanity and our common home,” said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft and one of the first signatories of the Rome Appeal.

The signing of the document by the world’s religious leaders will take place tomorrow, July 10, after participants visit various monuments in honor of the victims of the atomic bomb, and can be followed live on YouTube, through this link.