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G7 leaders meet in Italy starting tomorrow. They'll be talking about Russia's war in Ukraine, migration, labor and, notably, how artificial intelligence is affecting international relations. That session on AI is getting a special guest, Pope Francis. NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram has more on why the Pope was invited.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: You may remember a viral photo from last year - Pope Francis wearing an enormous white puffer coat. The picture blew up on social media, but it turned out to be AI-generated - a deepfake that took a lot of people by surprise. Perhaps more surprising is that it wasn't the first time Pope Francis himself has gotten involved in artificial intelligence. It's actually an issue he's been speaking out about since 2020.
BRIAN GREEN: The Pope has developed a bit of a reputation in the last few years as being person who's very interested in artificial intelligence and, in particular, in the social impact of AI.
SHIVARAM: That's Brian Green. He directs the Center for Technology and Ethics at Santa Clara University and was involved in a report the Vatican released on AI in 2023. Green says he thinks Pope Francis will tell world leaders this week that AI needs to be put toward good uses, like ways that will help the poor and protect the environment and promote peace. Green also says the Pope can speak on AI at the G7 from a unique standpoint because he's not a political leader.
GREEN: As a religious leader, the only thing he really has is moral authority, which means that he can't really come with a big political agenda to something like this. He can't come with a huge economic agenda, but he can come with a moral agenda.
SHIVARAM: Part of the Pope's agenda on AI is reflected in something the Vatican released a few years ago, a document called the Rome Call for AI Ethics. It calls for transparency and accountability in AI development. Companies like Microsoft and IBM have already signed on. The framework is similar to the voluntary proposals the White House got major tech companies to agree to last year.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is hosting this year's G7, and she's wanted to elevate the Rome Call and invited the Pope to speak. Gregory Allen works on AI for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in D.C.
GREGORY ALLEN: The Catholic Church is never one to say that we should not be having a conversation about AI ethics.
SHIVARAM: But Allen says G7 leaders will be talking about AI's impact on a lot of things, like the labor market, for example. And since there are so many elections around the world this year, there's heightened concern about how AI is being used to spread disinformation, especially when it comes from adversaries like China and Russia.
ALLEN: That is something that the G7 leaders, as the leaders of the most powerful democratic countries in the world, are thinking really hard about. What are we going to do to respond to this as a group and make ourselves more resilient to these types of attacks?
SHIVARAM: Last year, G7 leaders established some international rule for AI development when they met in Japan. A few months later, several world leaders met in London for a different summit on AI, and the technology will likely be a main focus at the NATO summit in D.C. in July. Regulating such a rapidly growing technology is a massive lift, which is why technologists like Green say the Pope's attendance at the G7 summit this year really matters.
GREEN: Hopefully, this opportunity will be something which is taken advantage of. Just having the Pope there and saying these words is only the first step. The next step is, what are the leaders going to do in response to this call?
SHIVARAM: Getting answers to that will take longer than just the few days in Italy. Leaders are expected to hear remarks from the Pope on Friday.
Deepa Shivaram, NPR News, Bari, Italy.
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