Pope Francis has made history as the first pontiff to participate in a G7 summit. He was greeted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni upon arriving by helicopter at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia on Friday, June 14.
When asked how he was by Meloni, Francis humorously replied, “Still alive.” The prime minister responded, “Still alive, me too,” to which the Argentine pontiff quipped, “That makes two of us.”
“Happy to see you again,” Francis said as he disembarked from the helicopter, to which Meloni warmly replied, “It’s a great pleasure to have you here.”
Francis addressed a session on AI at the summit and held 10 bilateral meetings with world leaders, emphasizing the significance of their presence as a great gift.
During the summit, the 87-year-old pontiff engaged in discussions on artificial intelligence, energy, and the Africa-Mediterranean region. He stressed that politicians must lead efforts to ensure AI remains centered on humanity. This means decisions regarding the use of weapons or other tools should always be made by humans, not machines.
“We would condemn humanity to a future without hope if we stripped people of their ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives, relegating them to depend on machine choices,” he asserted. “We must safeguard human control over AI decisions to preserve human dignity.”
The pope advocated for an international treaty to guide the ethical development and use of AI, cautioning that technology lacking human values such as compassion, mercy, morality, and forgiveness poses significant risks if left unchecked.
“No machine should ever decide to end a human life,” he underscored.
He concluded, “While everyone has a responsibility to use AI wisely, it is the duty of politics to create conditions that enable such responsible and beneficial use.”
