What: Pope Francis has become the latest public figure to warn businesses and researchers of the potential dangers of AI if not used in an ethical manner.
When: During The Common Good in the Digital Age conference, held at the end of September 2019 in the Vatican, Francis acknowledged “the remarkable developments in the field of technology” and predicted they would have “significant implications” for mankind.
Details: He cautioned, however, that we should not regard the potential benefits as a given.
“[…] the indisputable benefit that humanity will be able to draw from technological progress depends on the degree to which the new possibilities at our disposal are employed in an ethical manner”, he said.
He warned that the rapid technological progress could lead to social inequality unless companies work in the context of inclusion and the common good.
“If so-called technological progress were to become an enemy of the common good, this would lead to an unfortunate regression, to a form of barbarism dictated by the law of the strongest”, he said.
