Pope Francis called on political leaders to maintain human oversight over AI applications at the Group of Seven summit|@G7|X

Pope Francis made history when he spoke at the G7 summit in Italy yesterday, becoming the first pontiff to attend the event, where he stressed that humanity must guide artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent it from overpowering us.

During the summit, he warned against letting machines decide human fates or undermine people’s ability to choose for themselves, emphasizing that AI could reduce human interactions to mere algorithms if not managed ethically.

The Pope urged politicians to set up safeguards for AI development. He further called for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons.

The Pope has been vocal about the need for AI regulations for years. In 2020, the Vatican came up with guidelines for developing AI, called the “Rome Call for AI Ethics.” It has been signed by major tech companies, including Microsoft and IBM, and the Italian Ministry of Innovation Technology.