Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged that warnings about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence be taken seriously, pushing back on President Donald Trump’s recent dismissal of concerns about the rapidly advancing technology.

Aboard the papal plane returning to Rome from a four-day trip to France, Leo called on governments and technology leaders to confront the potential risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems.

“I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously,” Leo told reporters. “I don’t think that that is ‘fake news,’ as some have said.”

His comments offered a direct contrast with Trump, who told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly last week that fears about AI posing a threat to humanity were a “hoax.” Trump has pushed for rapid U.S. development of the technology, arguing that the country must remain ahead of China in the global AI race.

But Leo said the risks warrant discussion rather than dismissal.

“This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about,” Leo said, adding that the tech industry cannot assume nothing will happen.

The pope stopped short of saying catastrophic risks from AI are inevitable, but said he was not in “panic mode” and remained “relatively optimistic” that safeguards could be developed.

Leo has made artificial intelligence a major focus of his papacy. His first encyclical, published in May, addressed AI and the need to protect human dignity as the technology advances.

“In order to protect the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, I believe that today we must once again reflect on the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity and social justice,” Leo wrote in the major papal document.

The Vatican has since been working to convene experts and promote research into safeguards designed to keep humans at the center of AI development.

Leo has clashed with Trump on several issues in recent months, including the administration’s immigration crackdown and directly urging Trump to seek an “off-ramp” from the Iran war. The two have also diverged over press freedom. Last week, Leo affirmed the importance of journalists having access to public officials when asked about the Trump administration’s efforts to bar MS NOW, CNN and Politico from White House events.

The post Pope Leo: AI safety concerns are not ‘fake news’ appeared first on MS NOW.

Author: Source Author

From MS Now.