Holy f*ck! The Vatican, the holy epicenter of tradition and spirituality, steps into the realm of AI. The Vatican… yes, you read that correctly, has released its very own AI Ethics Handbook!
Now, you might be thinking, “Isn’t the Vatican more about prayers and ancient rituals than futuristic technology?” Well, the times are changing, and even the Vatican realizes the need to create ethics for using AI technology in the ChatGPT era. Who says artificial intelligence can’t have a moral compass?
Pope Francis has teamed up with US-based Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics to create guidelines for the use of AI. They have formed a new organization called the Institute for Technology, Ethics, and Culture (ITEC), which released a handbook titled ‘Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap’.
So, what can we expect from this holy handbook? The handbook spells out one anchor principle for companies, which is further broken down into seven guidelines, such as “Respect for Human Dignity and Rights”, and “Promote Transparency and Explainability”.
The handbook provides a comprehensive set of guidelines consisting of 7 broad principles, which are further broken down into 46 specific actionable steps. Each step comes with its own definition, examples, and actionable steps. One of the principles, “Respect for Human Dignity and Rights”, emphasizes the importance of “Privacy and confidentiality”.
The handbook stresses the commitment to collect only the necessary data and store it in a way that optimizes privacy and confidentiality. It also calls for specific measures to protect medical and financial data and highlights the responsibility of companies towards their users, beyond legal requirements.
Well, it covers a wide range of AI-related ethical considerations, including transparency, accountability, fairness, and human dignity. The Vatican wants to ensure that AI serves humanity without compromising our values. It’s like having a digital guardian angel watching over the development and use of AI systems.
Various organizations are contemplating the implications of AI and technology on humanity’s future, not just the Vatican. OpenAI released ChatGPT to the world a few months ago, and its CEO, Sam Altman, has already testified before Congress and met with President Biden to discuss AI regulation.
At first glance, it may not seem obvious, but His Holiness and his colleagues are well-equipped to share their insights on artificial intelligence. According to Father Brendan McGuire, pastor of St. Simon Parish in Los Altos and an advisor for ITEC, the current initiative is in line with the Church’s long-standing interests. He believes that the Vatican has a unique ability to bring together influential people for productive conversations. “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 as he spoke to Gizmodo. “Technology executives from all over Silicon Valley have been coming to me for years and saying, ‘You need to help us, there’s a lot of stuff on the horizon and we aren’t ready.’ The idea was to use the Vatican’s convening power to bring executives from the entire world together.”
However, tech CEOs seem to be mainly concerned with a far-off and hypothetical future where robots trigger the end of the world. Recently, hundreds of tech executives signed a one-sentence statement urging the world to prioritize mitigating the risk of AI-induced extinction, like other societal-scale dangers such as pandemics and nuclear war.
Although the concerns about the future implications of AI may be valid, some critics suggest that the emphasis on what’s to come is a tactic employed by the industry to divert regulatory attention away from the present challenges posed by existing AI technology.
So, whether you’re a devout believer, a curious technophile, or just intrigued by the collision of religion and AI, keep an eye on the Vatican’s AI Ethics Handbook. After all, if the Vatican can embrace AI ethics, anything is possible!