The Vatican has issued its own guide to the ethics of artificial intelligence

By: Bohdan Kaminskyi | 28.06.2023, 19:18

The Holy See has issued a guide to the ethics of artificial intelligence as understood by the Pope.

Here's What We Know

The manual is the result of a collaboration between Pope Francis and Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Together they created a new organisation called the Institute for Technology, Ethics and Culture (ITEC).

The organization's first project is a manual entitled "Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap". It contains seven sections, each of which is broken down into 46 specific steps.

For example, the principle of "Respect for Human Dignity and Rights" includes a focus on "Privacy and confidentiality". To put this idea into practice, the book calls for a commitment "not collect more data than necessary".

The document asks companies to consider specific measures to protect medical and financial data and to focus on accountability to users, not just legal requirements.

According to Father Brendan McGuire and ITEC adviser, the initiative is a culmination of the Church's longstanding interests. He argues that the Vatican has a unique ability to bring key players to the negotiating table.

"The Pope has always had a large view of the world and of humanity, and he believes that technology is a good thing. But as we develop it, it comes time to ask the deeper questions," Father Brendan said.

He added the church has often been approached by CEOs from across Silicon Valley to help solve problems.

Father Brendan said the possible existential threats of AI are serious. However, the technology's immediate problems deserve just as much attention.

However, Father Brendan does not know if the Pope has used ChatGPT.

Source: Gizmodo.