In a first, Pope plans to attend G-7 summit

ROME – As leaders from the Group of Seven (G-7) nations gather this week in southern Italy, they will be joined by representatives from countries at the centre of international conflict, from developing nations such as Brazil and India, and, for the first time, from the Holy See.

Pope Francis, the Vatican announced, will take part in a discussion June 14 on the

ethical implications of artificial intelligence

at a session that is open to envoys from countries that are not G-7 members.

The Vatican said the Pope would also have bilateral conversations with some of the visiting leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, who invited him, said the Pope’s presence would “make a decisive contribution to defining a regulatory, ethical and cultural framework” for AI, adding that his participation “brings prestige to our nation and to the entire Group of Seven”.

Pope Francis’ participation in the summit comes as the 87-year-old pope was reported this week to have used again an

offensive slur to refer to homosexuality

, the same pejorative he was accused of using in May.

The reports in May prompted a backlash among LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people, towards whom the Pope had generally adopted a more welcoming approach.

The pope’s G-7 presence breaks with a long tradition in the Catholic Church of refusing such invitations on the basis that a pontiff does not need state leaders or anyone else to offer him a platform to speak, said Professor Alberto Melloni, an Italian church historian.

“The Pope already has the floor,” Prof Melloni said.

But in this case, Pope Francis, who has a record of breaking with conventional behaviour, might see the summit as a high-profile opportunity to send another loud message on ending conflicts such as the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, Prof Melloni said.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told Avvenire, an Italian Catholic daily, that Pope Francis was ready to use “all the means and spaces” available to make the case for peace.

Pope Francis’ invitation to the summit, he added, was also a recognition of the profound ethical implications of the technology he will officially be there to discuss.

The Pope has already been caught in the currents of AI-generated photographs: Images of Pope Francis wearing a giant white padded jacket, riding a motorcycle and drinking a beer at a music festival have caused widespread glee on social media.

But Pope Francis and the Vatican have also highlighted more serious implications of AI, including in education, communication, working life, and corporate and government decision-making.

In 2020, the Pontifical Academy for Life, a research institute whose members are selected by the pope, issued a document, the Rome Call For AI Ethics, that laid out principles for the development and use of the technology.

Top players in the field of AI, including leaders at Microsoft, IBM and Cisco, have signed the document.

Pope Francis himself addressed the subject in a message on New Year’s Day, calling for a global treaty to ensure that AI systems preserved space for human mercy, compassion and forgiveness, rather than be plunged into a reality operated by inscrutable algorithms.

He said it was vital to understand what effect these technologies will have on individual lives and on societies, on international stability and on peace.

Reverend Paolo Benanti, who serves as an AI ethicist to both the Vatican and the Italian government, said the pope’s attendance at the G-7 meeting emphasised his willingness to engage with pivotal global issues.

“The Pope shows that he has these antennae,” Rev Benanti told reporters this past week, citing Pope Francis’ other major concerns, such as migration and climate change, adding: “He perceives where the world goes.”

In the seaside town of Savelletri, where the G-7 summit is taking place in a luxury tourist resort, residents had high hopes for the Pope’s visit.

Although tight security protocols mean that locals are unlikely to see Pope Francis in person, many were keeping their fingers crossed for some payoff, however small.

“At least a blessing,” said one 68-year-old resident, Ms Laura Mancini. “He must give that to us.” NYTIMES