Pope Leo XIV, in a message addressed to participants in the first edition of AI4Peace, an international symposium held at the Pontifical Lateran University on 21–22 September, stressed the need to guide the development of artificial intelligence towards serving human dignity and peace. In a world marked by conflict and division, the Pope said, technological progress must be guided by wisdom, charity and genuine concern for the good of others, so as to foster dialogue, reconciliation and solidarity among peoples.
The Pope also referred to his Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, presenting the Christian vision as a “compass” for navigating the digital age. The aim is to ensure that the fruits of technological innovation become instruments of peace, rather than contributing to greater division, inequality and conflict.
The AI4Peace symposium brings together experts, academics, representatives of institutions and international organizations to explore the opportunities and risks associated with AI in conflict prevention and resolution, the protection of human rights and governance. The initiative is conceived as a permanent international platform for dialogue among science, diplomacy, institutions, the economy, philosophy, academia and religion.
The meeting also highlighted the need to integrate ethics from the very design stage of technologies and always to preserve human responsibility: the fundamental question is not only what AI is capable of doing, but also towards what ends humanity intends to direct it.