EDITORIAL

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE WISDOM OF THE HEART

BY Rafael Armada | EDITOR

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is already a firm part of our lives: a system that gathers massive amounts of information, connects this information at an incredibly high speed and can respond to innumerable demands and perform many of our daily tasks.

AI is an extremely powerful tool which can improve our lives regarding technology, in areas such as health or in combating crime and corruption, and by providing unrestricted access to information to the global community. It can ease many of our tasks, including tedious or demanding duties and jobs. However, AI needs to remain at the service of every human being — without discrimination—respecting the dignity of all.

Pope Francis, recently addressing the G7 leaders in Italy, acknowledged the antagonistic feelings which AI may produce in us. We are thrilled about the possibilities which it offers us but, at the same time, we experience fear of the possible consequences of its inappropriate use, especially if the freedom and the responsibilities of every individual are significantly diminished. “AI is a technology that could easily escape the control of its human creator”, Pope Francis said. In its advanced forms “it will not be fully under the supervision of either users or programmers who defined their original purposes, since AI programs will be able to communicate directly with each other, improving their performance” in rather an autonomous manner. A tool created by human beings may end up shaping our lives.

Here comes the concern of many experts when they speak about the issue of “singularity”— a term borrowed from the world of physics — which refers to the moment beyond which we are not able to predict what will happen next. If AI reaches that point, which appears not too remote, we may be uncertain of the direction in which technology may take us.

There is, therefore, an urgent need to bring ethical values to the debate on AI. Institutions and experts all over the world, including the so-called godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, are adamantly demanding a set of regulations and a framework which can preserve human control over AI, avoiding the possibility of its devastating use by unscrupulous minds.

The Rome Call, an initiative created by the Pontifical Academy of Life in 2020, and signed by many high-tech corporations and institutions, is an important milestone, bringing the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the forefront. They express their conviction that the human person must be at the centre of every decision regarding technological advancements.

Before us lies an opportunity to exercise our responsibilities and to look after the wellbeing of our future generations. The Summit of the Future, organised by the United Nations and scheduled for 22-23 September 2024, also intends to address and respond to these emerging challenges. Discernment in issues of AI is absolutely necessary so that, with God’s guidance, we follow the wisdom of the heart.

South Africa has engaged with the ethical aspects of AI through its National Artificial Intelligence Plan. This Plan expresses the opportunities created by AI for economic growth and improving humanitarian challenges of the continent; but it also points out the concern that AI may create social and digital divides. In this month of August, a month dedicated in South Africa to women, we pray and advocate that AI may become an instrument which enhances their respect and wellbeing.