From hip-hop artist to self-professed satanic clergy member.
Pope Francis' Warnings and Calls for AI Regulation
Get ready to delve into some skewed AI-generated imagery! Francis' papacy, wrapping up on April 21, was no stranger to disinformation and AI manipulation. Remember the infamous instance in March 2023, when he sported a puffy white jacket? Nicknamed 'Pope Rapper', the realistic images tricked many users. But it didn't stop there.
Time and time again, the pontiff's stances and reforms, often met with resistance from the church's most conservative faction, were twisted on social media, painting him as a radical pope pushing a vague "globalist agenda" set to dismantle Western culture. AI-crafted images of Francis greeting a "satanic priest" even surfaced.
Claims like "Catholics accuse Pope Francis of greeting a satanic priest in Bergamo" spread like wildfire, despite the shoddy quality of the images. Fast-forward to last Christmas, and an AI-altered video circulated with the Pope supposedly making statements about the "true meaning of Christmas", bashing good old Saint Nick in the process.
When it comes to disinformation, Pope Francis' hospitalization was a prime example, with a fabricated image of him in Rome's Gemelli Hospital. The image depicted him on a stretcher with an oxygen mask, riddled with texture and form flaws that were overlooked by many curious social media users.
The Pope has constantly spoken out about the risks associated with emerging technologies, specifically AI. He raised concerns at the G7 summit last year, highlighting the importance of ethical behavior to mitigate the potential damage these tools can cause.
Fast-forward to January of this year, and Pope Francis once again sounded the alarm about AI's potential harmful effects on society, expressing worries about the "growing crisis of truth in the public sphere."
The pontiff envisions AI as part of efforts to achieve "greater justice, greater fraternity, and a more human order of social relations," but he also acknowledges the risk of AI fueling a "technocratic paradigm," a worldview that believes all problems can be solved through technology—often at the expense of human dignity and social relationships.
In a nutshell, Francis advises a "human-centered" approach to AI, warning against technocracy, and prioritizing equality, harmony, and ethical AI in justice, democracy, and work dignity. He doesn't prescribe specific regulations, but his appeal is clear: tread carefully with AI or risk worsening inequalities and social discord.
As for Pope Francis himself, heCalled it a day on Monday, 88 years young, after 12 years of leadership as the first Jesuit and Latin American Pope of the Catholic Church.
For more on the future of the Vatican's tech-savvy leader, check out our exclusive scoop: "Bishop Américo Aguiar 'jokes' with Irish journalist. "Next Pope?""
- The Pope's warnings about AI regulate the spread of disinformation, such as AI-generated images that supposedly show him greeting a "satanic priest" in Buenos Aires or an altered video of him discussing the "true meaning of Christmas."
- In wake of the proliferation of AI-manipulated imagery and disinformation, the Pope, speaking at the Vatican, expressed concerns about the potentially negative impact of technology on the texture of truth in the world, likening it to a global crisis.
- Traditionally robed Catholic leaders, like the Pope, have been subjects to AI-crafted images that mimic the texture of reality, such as the infamous images portraying him greeting a "satanic priest" or the realistic digital versions of the Pope in puffy white clothing, which began circulating years ago.
