Artificial intelligence is about to get a close-up investigation from Notre Dame Catholic University academics tasked with reporting on its ethical uses.
This is a task close to the Pope’s heart. Earlier this year he spoke of political leaders’ responsibility to ensure AI is used ethically.
Project plan
The University has announced that it will use an endowment to develop faith-based frameworks for the ethical uses of artificial intelligence – known as AI or AGI (the G stands for General).
This “is a pivotal moment for technology ethics” says Meghan Sullivan, director of the Catholic university’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good.
AGI is developing quickly and can potentially change our economies, our education systems and the fabric of our social lives, she says.
“We believe that the wisdom of faith traditions can make a significant contribution to the development of ethical frameworks for AGI” Sullivan says.
The first part of the framework development will see the Catholic University undertake a year-long planning project.
By next September, Sullivan says the university aims to have engaged and built a network of higher education and technology leaders, along with leaders of different faiths “to broach the topic of ethical uses of AI and eventually create faith-based ethical frameworks”.
“This project will encourage broader dialogue about the role that concepts such as dignity, embodiment, love, transcendence and being created in the image of God should play in how we understand and use this technology.
“These concepts – as the bedrock of many faith-based traditions – are vital for how we advance the common good in the era of AGI.”
The university says that, in September 2025, a conference will focus on the most pressing faith-based issues relating to the proliferation of AGI and provide training and networking opportunities for leaders who attend.
Priority work
For some time Pope Francis has been pushing for work on AI ethics to begin.
It must be used only to benefit humanity, he told the Group of Seven leaders at a summit in southern Italy in June.
“We cannot allow a tool as powerful and indispensable as artificial intelligence to reinforce such a technocratic paradigm but rather we must make artificial intelligence a bulwark against its expansion,” Pope Francis said.
“This is precisely where political action is urgently needed.”
According to 2024 statistics from National University in San Diego, 77 percent of companies are either using or exploring the use of AI in their businesses.
For 83 percent, the technology is a top priority in their future plans.
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