00:00In a speech that has gained traction worldwide, Pope Leo has declared war on artificial intelligence,
00:06warning of the dangers surrounding the emerging technology and the threats to society that it poses.
00:10For more on why the Catholic Church is getting involved here, we're joined here by our correspondent, Angela Scugins.
00:16So what spurred these remarks from the Catholic Church, Angela?
00:19Good morning, Maeve. So this could be an act of divine intervention or something a little bit more choreographed.
00:24Pope Leo XIV released his major manifesto, something called the Encyclical, on May 15th.
00:30Now, 145 years ago to that date, a former Pope Leo published his own letter,
00:35which clarifies the position of the Vatican, the Catholic faith, to its billions of followers.
00:40Now, his letter railed against the Industrial Revolution and the harmster society it posed.
00:45Now, this Pope Leo warned of the major technological advancement facing the 21st century AI.
00:51In this letter, he warned against the dangers posed to AI, particularly when it comes to the battlefield,
00:57warning that it can make war easier.
01:00What is very interesting is that the CEO of Anthropic, a major AI company,
01:05was in the Vatican on Monday listening to this speech.
01:08It's important to point out that Anthropic is in a major legal battle with the US government
01:13regarding its application on the battlefield.
01:15But let's take a listen to Pope Leo regarding his statements.
01:18I've listened to scientists and engineers, to political leaders and public officials,
01:25to parents and teachers.
01:27From this listening, matured a disturbing conviction expressed in Magnifica Humanitas.
01:34Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument
01:42of domination, exclusion, and death.
01:47And the Pope also likened AI to slavery, Angela.
01:50Tell us more about this particular statement.
01:51Yes, so in the 42,000-word document, he wrote,
01:55if technology promises emancipation, yet it produces new forms of global subordination,
02:01the fight against new forms of slavery is a decisive test for the ethical discernment AI.
02:07What is clear is that the pontiff wants to be on the front foot when it comes to calling out
02:11AI is a potential relationship with slavery.
02:14We're talking about content moderators that have to sift through a large swathe of disturbing imagery,
02:20as well as the children that are often sent to collect critical rare earth minerals
02:24that produce things like our smartphones and our laptops.
02:27What is clear is that the Vatican wants to be on the front foot when it comes to AI,
02:31stating that this should be a tool that serves humanity and not the other way around.
02:35But of course, it's making regulators here in Brussels a bit nervous as they try to regulate,
02:39but also find a way to make this continent more competitive in that field.
02:42Angela Scudan, thank you so much.
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