
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Pope Francis is set to attend the G7 summit on Friday and is expected to urge world leaders to adopt AI regulations, a subject the Pope has spoken about several times in the past, including after he was the subject of viral AI-generated images that many believed were real.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The Vatican announced Pope Francis would&nbsp;<a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/06/13/240613d.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">attend</a>&nbsp;the Group of 7 conference in Italy on Friday to discuss ethical concerns surrounding artificial intelligence during a session dedicated to AI, becoming the first pope to participate in the summit of leaders.</p>



<p>The Pope fell victim to AI in the past: AI-generated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/05/07/ai-generated-met-gala-images-of-katy-perry-rihanna-went-viral-heres-how-to-spot-a-deepfake/">deepfake</a>&nbsp;images of the Pope in a white puffer jacket and bedazzled crucifix—dubbed the “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-puffer-jacket-fake-photos-deepfake-power-peril-of-ai/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Balenciaga Pope</a>”—went viral last year and racked up millions of views online, causing some people to believe the pictures were real.</p>



<p>He spoke about the fake images during a&nbsp;<a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/01/24/240124b.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">speech</a>&nbsp;in Vatican City in January, warning about the rise of “images that appear perfectly plausible but false (I too have been an object of this).”</p>



<p>Pope Francis has spoken out about the danger of AI before, and he’s expected to urge world leaders at the G7 conference to work together to create AI regulations.</p>



<p>During the G7 meetings, Italy is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/digital-bridge/when-generative-ai-gets-political/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">expected</a>&nbsp;to advocate for the development of homegrown AI systems in African countries, further work is expected to be done on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/100573471.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Hiroshima Process</a>—a G7 effort to safeguard the use of generative AI—and leaders from places like the U.S. and the U.K. are expected to promote AI regulations introduced in their countries, according to Politico.</p>



<p>Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.governo.it/en/articolo/g7-president-meloni-announces-participation-pope-francis/25533" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;in April the Pope was invited to the G7 conference to help “make a decisive contribution to defining a regulatory, ethical and cultural framework for artificial intelligence.”</p>



<p>The Vatican also announced Pope Francis will have bilateral conversations with leaders of other countries, including President Joe Biden, President Samoei Ruto of Kenya and India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The Pope has been speaking out about the need for artificial intelligence regulation for years. The Vatican has been promoting the “<a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdlife/documents/rc_pont-acd_life_doc_20202228_rome-call-for-ai-ethics_en.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Rome Call for AI Ethics</a>” since 2020, which lays out six principles for AI ethics, which include transparency, inclusion, impartiality, responsibility, reliability and security and privacy. As part of the August 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/08/08/pope-warns-artificial-intelligence-could-fuel-conflicts-and-antagonism/?sh=5b521ed770f0">announcement</a>&nbsp;for this year’s World Day of Peace of the Catholic Church—which was held on Jan. 1—-the Pope warned of the dangers of AI,saying it should be used as a “service of humanity.” He called for “an open dialogue on the meaning of these new technologies, endowed with disruptive possibilities and ambivalent effects.” In December 2023, the Pope&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/britneynguyen/2023/12/14/pope-francis-calls-for-global-treaty-to-regulate-ai-after-viral-deepfake-of-him-wearing-a-puffer-jacket/">called for</a>&nbsp;an international treaty to regulate AI as part of his World Day of Peace message. He urged world leaders to “adopt a binding international treaty” to regulate AI development, adding it shouldn’t just focus on preventing harm, but should also encourage “best practices.” The Pope noted that although advancements in technology and science lead to the betterment of humanity,” they can also give humans “unprecedented control over reality.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Italy—one of the G7 summit’s rotating hosts—became the first country to temporarily&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/technology/chatgpt-italy-ban.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ban</a>&nbsp;AI chatbot ChatGPT in March 2023 after Garante, an Italian data protection regulator, claimed the chatbot violated the European Union’s privacy laws. Garante claimed ChatGPT exposed payment information and messages, and allowed children to access inappropriate information.&nbsp;<a href="https://iapp.org/media/pdf/resource_center/global_ai_law_policy_tracker.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Other countries</a>&nbsp;that have passed or introduced laws regulating AI include Australia, China, the European Union, the U.S., Japan and the U.K.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/08/08/pope-warns-artificial-intelligence-could-fuel-conflicts-and-antagonism/?sh=5b521ed770f0">Pope Warns Artificial Intelligence Could ‘Fuel Conflicts And Antagonism’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/britneynguyen/2023/12/14/pope-francis-calls-for-global-treaty-to-regulate-ai-after-viral-deepfake-of-him-wearing-a-puffer-jacket/">Pope Francis Calls For Global Treaty To Regulate AI—After Viral Deepfake Of Him Wearing A Puffer Jacket</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/05/07/ai-generated-met-gala-images-of-katy-perry-rihanna-went-viral-heres-how-to-spot-a-deepfake/">AI-Generated Met Gala Images Of Katy Perry, Rihanna Went Viral: Here’s How To Spot A Deepfake</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-puffer-jacket-fake-photos-deepfake-power-peril-of-ai/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Fake photos of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket go viral, highlighting the power and peril of AI</a>&nbsp;(CBS News)</p>


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FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

The Pope Heads To G7 For First Time To Talk About AI—After ‘Balenciaga Pope’ Meme