Pope Francis Prays That AI and Robotics Serve Humanity

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming ever more ubiquitous but the jury is still out on whether it will be good for humanity or not. From fears that it will take over people's jobs to even worse ones that it may attack humans, there are a lot of unknowns that come with AI's development and not all are positive. Luckily we may have some divine support.

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For his November monthly intention, Pope Francis said a prayer that AI will be good for humanity. "We pray that the progress of robotics and artificial intelligence may always serve humankind," said the noble Pope in his intention for November, which is published each month by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network.

The Pope has already addressed his concerns regarding AI before. In February, he held a summit on "human-centered" ways of designing AI where he invited the likes of IBM and Microsoft to participate. He then published comments on the summit where he shared his most personal views on AI.

A pressing challenge

"The issues you have addressed in these days concern one of the most important changes affecting today’s world. Indeed, we could say that the digital galaxy, and specifically artificial intelligence, is at the very heart of the epochal change we are experiencing. Digital innovation touches every aspect of our lives, both personal and social. It affects our way of understanding the world and ourselves. It is increasingly present in human activity and even in human decisions, and is thus altering the way we think and act," wrote the Pope.

He warned that AI could bring additional problems such as worsening economic inequalities and called out to all those involved with the technology to "seek ways to increase the involvement of all those who have the good of the human family at heart." His letter is a heartfelt much-needed response to changes that are taking place around the world.