In brief | Proponents of unregulated AI this week found themselves on the defensive as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church released a lengthy document calling for a more thoughtful approach to AI use.
Pope Leo XIV's encyclical left no stone unturned, addressing labour rights, environmental concerns and respect for intellectual property as it relates to AI.
The pontiff voiced his concerns only weeks after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang blamed executives with "God complexes" for the increasing stigma attached to AI.
Why it matters | So often in recent years, technology executives have promoted the idea that AI developments are inevitable.
Polling on how the general public feels about AI, however, has somewhat blunted that notion.
It is within this political climate that Pope Leo's encyclical on AI was released, which is why it has generated discussion for so many days.
Quoted | “In a context where the wealth of nations depends increasingly on knowledge and technology, when these goods remain concentrated in the hands of a few, without adequate forms of sharing and access, a new imbalance is created that contradicts the universal destination of goods. In turn, it widens the gap between the included and the excluded, between those who can participate in the digital revolution and those who remain on the margins.”
