Carney, Pope Leo discuss responsible AI after pontiff warns world to slow development

Carney, Pope Leo discuss responsible AI after pontiff warns world to slow development

Pope says AI systems can spread misinformation, prioritize conflict and risk war

Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Pope Leo about artificial intelligence and the "imperative that AI must serve humanity" — a conversation that comes days after the Pope urged governments to slow down the development of AI systems.

In a readout distributed to reporters on Friday afternoon, Carney's office said the prime minister, a devout Catholic, is "welcoming the Pope's leadership in this field."

"Prime Minister Carney expressed Canada's desire to lead internationally on responsible AI and tools to benefit the global community," the readout said.

A separate press release from the Vatican said the two discussed "the importance of developing artificial intelligence from an ethical perspective and with a human-centred approach," alongside other topics like promoting peace in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Earlier this week, the Pope published his first encyclical, one of the highest forms of teaching from a pontiff to the Catholic Church's members. He warned AI systems can spread misinformation, prioritize conflict and risk leading the world down a path of unending war.

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"What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating," said Leo in the text, entitled Magnifica Humanitas, or, Magnificent ​Humanity.

The Pope invoked the biblical story of the Tower of Babel — where humans are driven by pride to create a tower tall enough to reach Heaven and anger God — and said the story shows the risk of any enterprise that "aspires to reach heaven without God's blessing."

"With the heart of a shepherd and a father, I ask everyone to abandon the construction of yet another Tower of Babel and to join forces in building up the common good," he said.

The document also decried a number of wars across the world, lamented the weakening of multilateral organizations and warned that arms industry profits were a driving force behind conflicts.

"The past 60 ⁠years have been marked by conflicts of astonishing brutality, ⁠often affecting civilian populations on a massive scale," stated Leo in the English-language text.

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"Humanity is slipping into a ‌violent culture of power, where peace no longer appears as a responsibility to be taken on, but as a fragile interval between conflicts," he said.

AI strategy coming next week: Carney

On Wednesday, Carney announced the federal government's much-anticipated national AI strategy, which has faced multiple delays over the last few months, will be released next week.

The strategy is expected to detail Ottawa's plans for the rapidly evolving technology. In its spring economic update, the federal government shared the six pillars that will underpin the national strategy:

On the global alliances pillar, the economic update said "Canada will work with a variety of trusted partners to align standards, co-invest in innovation and help Canadian companies access global markets — while shaping an AI ecosystem anchored in democratic values."

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Some executives in Canada's tech sector have expressed hope the strategy will not only support the AI industry, but accelerate its growth so Canada can become a leader on AI technology, talent and companies.

Meanwhile, some provinces are considering taking action on AI into their own hands, like Manitoba, which has announced Canada's first social media and AI chatbot ban for those under 16. The federal government has previously said it's considering something similar.

Benjamin Lopez Steven is an associate producer for CBC's The House and a digital writer with CBC Politics. He was also a 2024 Joan Donaldson Scholar and a graduate of Carleton University. You can reach him at benjamin.steven@cbc.ca or find him on X at @bensteven_s.