Let’s Prevent AI “from creating a system of domination”: Vatican Official at Congress of Catholic Journalists in Africa

Perceived as a system of domination, Dr. Ruffini said, “AI is wrongly considered infallible, invulnerable, and omniscient - in contradiction even with the scientific presupposition that underpins it – that machine can break down complex cognitive functions into simple mechanistic components. We are at a crossroads.”

In his message that Mons. Janvier Yameogo read out, the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication said that if the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, then the long-term impact depends on whether or not it can be controlled.

He explained, “Whether the development of artificial intelligence can help us to become more human or cause us to devalue our humanity and how; in what way will it make relationships between individuals stronger and truer, communities more cohesive; in what will it increase the loneliness of those who are already alone, further depriving each and every one of us of the warmth that only genuine communication can provide?”

With this, Dr. Ruffini said the “underlying question is not about machines but about people - the relationship between humans and algorithms. And it's not an abstract question. It is precisely about our lives, our freedom, and our free will.”

He further explained that “it concerns the power of those who control the calculation systems. It further concerns the relationship between those who do the calculations and those on whom the calculations are done as well as the calculation criteria.”

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The control of AI, Dr. Ruffini said, “concerns the limit between what can be calculated (a number) and what cannot; because it is not a number but life, which is unique and is infinite.”

Amid all the uncertainty brought about by AI, the Vatican official said, “what we are being asked to do is to live our lives to the full, not mechanically and without fear of life's challenges and its gifts.”

“We are to read and tell history with the intelligence of the heart, with the wisdom of love, without confusing its means and ends, truth and lies, intuition and calculations. What we are being asked to do is to remain human. And to become more and more so,” he said.

Organized under the theme, “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI),” the August 10-17 Congress has brought together scholars, experts, policymakers, corporate leaders, and journalists from across the continent.

The Congress aims to examine how new media technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping communication and influencing daily life. Discussions are to explore strategies for safeguarding ethics, dignity, and justice in media practice.

Deliberating on a broad range of issues, participants are to come up with recommendations to guide governments, media organizations, and society at large. Outcomes from the Congress are to shape UCAP’s future training programs and professional guidelines.

In his message, the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication said he hopes the objective of the Congress as elaborated in the theme will be fulfilled.

For the Church in Africa, Dr. Ruffini said, “this continental Congress is also a privileged opportunity to bear witness to our faith in Jesus Christ, who creates unity in diversity.”

“I would like to wish that the work of the Congress will continue to run smoothly, whether at the level of discussions on current issues or reports on the activities of UCAP within the national entities, and naturally in the spirit of the Church Family of God,” he said.

The Vatican official implored, “May the spirit of mutual forgiveness, reconciliation, inclusion and participation nourish your efforts to meet the challenges and to choose the executives responsible for leading UCAP at continental level in order to always foster communion.”

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Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.