Pope Francis urges G7 not to lose control of AI in historic speech

PopeFrancis has warned world leaders that artificial intelligence (AI) must never be allowed to gain the upper hand on humanity as he became the first pontiff to address the G7.

After being wheeled around the huge oval table where the world’s top leaders had convened in southern Italy, the 87-year-old said AI represented an “epochal transformation” for mankind, one that could inspire excitement but, equally, cause “greater injustice”.

He then implored the politicians around him, who he said bore the main burden of ensuring AI is used to benefit humanity, to “ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control” over the supercomputers.

“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. “We need to ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programmes: human dignity itself depends on it.”

He added that “no machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”

The historic speech followed a warm reception for the pontiff at the G7 summit in Bari, southern Italy, attended by leaders from the US, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Canada and Japan. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was among the 10 additional leaders invited by Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.

Javier Milei, the Argentine president, hugged his fellow countryman as Pope Francis entered the conference room, while Canadian PM Justin Trudeau kissed him. US president Joe Biden also shared a long, whispered conversation with the pontiff.

In a draft of their closing statement, the G7 leaders said they would draw up a plan to anticipate future skills and