CHAMBERSBURG – Pope Leo XIV released a 40,000-plus word essay concerning various matters over the weekend.
Artificial Intelligence is one that’s got a lot of people’s attention.
The Pope read his essay in English at a program he was attending with Catholic officials at the Vatican this weekend.
He warned that AI is getting very dangerous and that humans should be more engaged to regulate it.
Attorney Clint Barkdoll said, “He compared it to the biblical house of Babel, are we just building this platform, thinking it’s going to lead to all these great things, not realizing that it’s going to be a big problem?”
Michele Jansen of News Talk 103.7FM noted, “As the lone Catholic here, I want to say I have mixed feelings about his statement. I mean, it’s very important. It is very important that we talk about AI and its ethical, moral, and humanistic implications here. I really like that. I hate that he gave in to activists, putting out some odd statement in the middle of it about condemning transatlantic colonial slavery. I mean, really? He keeps doing this sort of slightly Marxist flavored supporting political positions that, as the Pope of my faith, I think he’s got to stay out of, but his influence, he worked in South America for many, many, many years. Seems like all these last three popes with that South American influence seem to be putting out those political positions. I wish he’d stop that. It really undercuts this really important message that he is trying to get out, which is something we need to pay attention to. I don’t want religious leaders controlling it, but I do want them communicating with their flocks how important it is to keep our humanity and our moral and ethical positions when it comes to AI.”
Barkdoll said, “He touched on too, and this is something I’ve always found fascinating in these AI discussions, that many AI executives themselves have been ringing the alarm bell, saying that they’re even surprised that governments aren’t doing more to regulate this. They see how bad this is and where it could be going, and that’s against their own self-interest, of course, but it just seems like more and more governments are completely hands off, and at this point it might already be too late. I mean, these things are getting so sophisticated and developed it might be too tough at this point to even do a lot of regulation with them.”