During the conference “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Human Dignity,” held on May 25 at the Lateran Palace and organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life in collaboration with Deloitte Central Mediterranean, Archbishop Renzo Pegoraro, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, recalled the importance of keeping the development of artificial intelligence oriented toward the dignity of the person and the common good.
In his opening remarks, Archbishop Pegoraro explicitly referred to the Rome Call for AI Ethics, launched by the Pontifical Academy for Life in 2020, describing it as finding “very strong confirmation” in the current debate on AI, governance, work, demographic transition, and the protection of the most vulnerable.
Below is the English translation of the article published by Vatican News.
The President of the Pontifical Academy for Life opened a conference this afternoon at the Lateran Palace on “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Human Dignity,” organized in collaboration with Deloitte Central Mediterranean. Speaking about governance, capital, demographic transition, work, and skills, he explained, today means “asking who is guiding these processes, according to which criteria, and with what effects on the most vulnerable.”
“Artificial intelligence can be a precious aid, but it cannot decide on its own what is right, what is human, what deserves to be protected. This responsibility remains ours.” This was emphasized by Archbishop Renzo Pegoraro, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, as he introduced this afternoon, May 25, the conference “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Human Dignity: A Bridge Across Demographic and Occupational Transitions,” held in the Hall of Conciliation at the Lateran Palace.
The event was organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life in collaboration with Deloitte Central Mediterranean and under the patronage of the Pontifical Lateran University. The opening session featured remarks by Archbishop Pegoraro, Fabio Pompei, CEO of Deloitte Central Mediterranean, and FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu.
AI: development must be linked to the dignity of the person
In his introduction, President Pegoraro explained that it is significant that the encyclical Magnifica humanitas, the first major text of Pope Leo XIV, “recalls, from the very beginning of his pontificate, an issue that today is before everyone’s eyes: technology is never neutral when it enters so deeply into work, care, social relationships, and collective decision-making.”
The encyclical, he added, reminds us that the decisive question “is not only what artificial intelligence can do, but whether its development will truly remain oriented toward the dignity of the person and the common good.”
“I believe,” Archbishop Pegoraro further clarified, “that this is also the meaning of today’s meeting. Speaking about governance, capital, demographic transition, work, and skills means asking who is guiding these processes, according to which criteria, and with what effects on the most vulnerable.”
For its President, the Pontifical Academy for Life fully feels this responsibility: “to recall that innovation is authentically human only when it does not reduce the person to a function, a data point, or a performance, but safeguards their dignity, freedom, and relational vocation.”
In this sense, the Rome Call for AI Ethics, launched by the Pontifical Academy for Life in 2020, “finds very strong confirmation today. Artificial intelligence can be a precious aid, but it cannot decide on its own what is right, what is human, what deserves to be protected. This responsibility remains ours.”
