Washington is leading a deregulation charge, with President Donald Trump ripping up the safety rules laid down by his predecessor Joe Biden and unveiling a half-trillion-dollar AI hardware plan with leading company OpenAI.
Even the EU, historically at the forefront of AI regulation, is modifying its stance to focus on competitiveness — opening the door to “targeted tweaks” of its AI Act and doubling down on boosting computing power. At an AI summit in Paris in February, world leaders spoke more about clinching deals than erecting guardrails.
To Benanti, the church’s role as “an expert in humanity” can galvanize leaders, particularly of Catholic countries, “to create an AI that cares for man and is aligned with social justice.”
In Leo’s first call with Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, the two pledged to continue working toward “an ethical and human-centered development of artificial intelligence.” Last year, at Meloni’s invitation, Francis addressed G7 leaders on AI ethics.
“[The Vatican’s] interest in AI is not strange,” Savona said. “Francis also took a great interest in climate change, which is a contemporary issue. The [church’s] mission is to be faithful to core principles, while adapting to the world.”
The Vatican could use its network across the Global South to “spark more democratic access” to AI as power becomes concentrated in the hands of tech giants and wealthier countries, — and help push for regulation, which is Europe-dominated, to be globally standardized, Savona said. “This would be very, very useful.”