Pope Francis warns G7 members of AI risks

Pope Francis has become the first pontiff to address a G7 summit, warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).  In his address he said: "We need to ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programs. Human dignity itself depends on it."

Pope Francis was invited by host Italy to address a special session at the Group of Seven's annual summit on the perils and promises of AI: "We would condemn humanity to a future without hope if we took away people's ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives by dooming them to depend on the choices of machines," he said. 

The G7 final statement largely reflected his concerns.
The leaders vowed to better coordinate the governance and regulatory frameworks surrounding AI to keep it "human-centered". 

At the same time, they acknowledged the potential impacts on the labour markets of machines taking the place of human workers and on the justice system of algorithms predicting recidivism.
"We will pursue an inclusive, human-centered, digital transformation that underpins economic growth and sustainable development, maximises benefits, and manages risks, in line with our shared democratic values and respect for human rights," they said.

The pope also urged the summit to ultimately ban the use of lethal autonomous weapons, colloquially known as "killer robots".

"No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being," he said. 

- CyberBeat