Pope Leo XIV stated on Monday that concerns about artificial intelligence going rogue are not ‘fake news’ and should be taken seriously, emphasizing the need for discussions and action regarding safety issues raised by AI experts. He asserted that the American pope was asked during a press conference about what the United States and China should be doing to prevent AI from posing catastrophic risks to humanity. U.S. President Donald Trump has called concerns about AI going rogue a ‘hoax.’ Leo highlighted that several AI giants, including Anthropic, have called for a slowdown in development to give safety measures time to catch up. Trump had a late-night dinner with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, discussing Americans’ concerns and how to maintain American dominance, the White House said. The Pope noted that AI is a significant challenge to humanity within days of his election and initiated a personal encyclical alongside Anthropic’s co-founder Christopher Olah at a Vatican event. He identified AI as a major threat to humanity within days of his election and took a step to launch his own encyclical, part of a Vatican initiative to engage Silicon Valley about the human costs of AI. The Pope stated that it’s important to invite political leaders, specialists in AI, and social organizations to discuss what’s happening and what could be down the road. He added that to simply say ‘Oh it’s not going to happen’ is not the most responsible way to go about it. With his comments, Leo has confirmed another area of disagreement with Trump, and the two leaders had a back-and-forth in April over Leo’s opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and Leo has also criticized the Trump administration’s migration crackdown. AI has become a major election-year issue in the U.S. as companies rush to build data centers and Americans increasingly raise alarms about the impact on farmland, water supplies, and electricity bills.
Source: NBC News
