\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2157285658-e1718218378745.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Attendees of the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit\u2014which gathers leaders from some of the world\u2019s most powerful democracies\u2014are used to rubbing elbows with the likes of President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This year, as they\u2019re discussing climate change, immigration, and economic security, they\u2019ll be joined by an unlikely guest: Pope Francis. The event, slated for June 13-15 in the Puglia region of Italy, will mark the first time a pope has been in attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though the pontiff lacks the official status associated with state leaders, Francis\u2019 influence\u2014which he\u2019s previously used to raise concerns<\/a> over climate change and the treatment of refugees\u2014will allow him to advocate for the regulation of artificial intelligence, a technology he\u2019s called potentially harmful. Francis, who was a chemist prior to entering seminary, has drawn on his scientific training to\u00a0 inform his stances<\/a> on political issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe pope is not an engineer, but he is concerned about the social aspects and implications of AI,\u201d Father Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar and professor who\u2019s previously worked with the Vatican on AI issues and holds a spot on the United Nations\u2019 AI advisory body, told CNN<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe core approach of Francis is focused on what new technology means for our co-existence: which elements of AI are causing inequality for humanity, and topics such as the distribution of fake news in the public square,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Francis\u2019 work addressing AI safety concerns began in 2020, when he helmed the Rome Call for AI Ethics<\/a>, a set of principles to increase the transparency and accountability of AI companies and their users. The Vatican, Microsoft<\/a>, and IBM<\/a> are among its signatories. The pope is likely to reiterate concerns about the regulation of AI at the summit this week.<\/p>\n Italy, one of the summit\u2019s rotating hosts, has increasingly scrutinized AI technology, and temporarily banned ChatGPT<\/a> in March 2023, becoming the first western country to do so. Italian data protection regulator Garante said in January that the chatbot violated the European Union\u2019s privacy laws<\/a> by exposing payment information and messages and allowing children to access inappropriate information.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals,\u201d OpenAI said in a statement at the time. \u201cWe actively work to reduce personal data in training our systems like ChatGPT, which also rejects requests for private or sensitive information about people.\u201d<\/p>\n Francis knows firsthand the potential pitfalls of AI. Last year, an image of him<\/a> in an all-white, full-body puffer jacket\u2014complete with a large cross dangling from his neck\u2014emerged on the internet. Though it went viral, with many believing the image to be real, it was created through the AI image tool Midjourney.<\/p>\n This past January, Francis acknowledged the images and issued a warning<\/a> over AI, noting that \u201cthis time in history\u2026. risks becoming rich in technology and poor in humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n He argued that while AI can be useful in advancing scientific fields, it becomes dangerous when co-opted to spread misinformation, including about individuals. \u201cOur very bodies, created for communication and communion, can become a means of aggression,\u201d Francis said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not the only trouble the Catholic Church has had with AI. Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers created an AI priest named \u201cFather Justin\u201d earlier this year. The\u00a0 chatbot was meant to help curious users learn about Catholicism. But the bot went too far<\/a>, claiming it was a member of the Catholic clergy and offering to take confession. The \u201cpriest\u201d was shortly defrocked, or stripped of ecclesiastical status, after Futurism reported<\/a> on the bot and reached out to the advocacy group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe chose the character to convey a quality of knowledge and authority, and also as a sign of the respect that all of us at Catholic Answers hold for our clergy,\u201d Catholic Answers president Christopher Check wrote in a post<\/a>. \u201cMany people, however, have voiced concerns about this choice.\u201d<\/p>\n The chatbot is now a \u201clay theologian\u201d named Justin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe swagged-out, white-puffered Pope<\/strong><\/h2>\n