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Europa 2023: Peace—The Highest Value of Humanity Scott 1826 (2023) January 1 is marked each year by the Vatican as the World Day of Peace. The day was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967 and was first celebrated on January 1, 1968. As we start the year of 2024, Pope Francis releases his message for the 57th World Day of Peace by addressing a topic which entered the mainstream in 2023: artificial intelligence. For many of us, artificial intelligence, or AI, was a science-fiction-like topic, something that COULD come to be in the distant future. In 2023, we came to know that AI not only EXISTS, but it is currently being utilized in a multitude of disciplines on many levels. No doubt many readers of this article have dipped their toes into applications such as ChatGPT, confirming that the use of AI is becoming much more widespread than we could have foreseen just one year ago. We have all heard about terms such as “chatbot” and “generative AI” as companies such as OpenAI are regularly discussed in the mainstream media. On December 8, 2023, the Vatican released Pope Francis’s World Day of Peace Message for January 1, 2024, entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Peace”. He opens his message with the following paragraph: At the beginning of the New Year, a time of grace which the Lord gives to each one of us, I would like to address God’s People, the various nations, heads of state and government, the leaders of the different religions and civil society, and all the men and women of our time, in order to offer my fervent good wishes for peace. His message addresses the promises and concerns of AI, and consists of eight main topics: The progress of science and technology as a path to peace The future of artificial intelligence: between promise and risk The technology of the future: machines that “learn” by themselves The sense of limit in the technocratic paradigm Burning issues for ethics Shall we turn swords into ploughshares? Challenges for education Challenges for the development of international law The pope ends his message with the following: It is my prayer at the start of the New Year that the rapid development of forms of artificial intelligence will not increase cases of inequality and injustice all too present in today’s world, but will help put an end to wars and conflicts, and alleviate many forms of suffering that afflict our human family. May Christian believers, followers of various religions and men and women of good will work together in harmony to embrace the opportunities and confront the challenges posed by the digital revolution and thus hand on to future generations a world of greater solidarity, justice and peace. The entire text of the pope’s World Peace Day message can be viewed by clicking on the reference link below. REFERENCE: • Vatican.va, December 8, 2023, MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 57th WORLD DAY OF PEACE, 1 JANUARY 2024 |
