Interreligious. In Hiroshima, religious leaders united for ethical and responsible AI

Since the tragic events of World War II, the Japanese city of Hiroshima has become a symbolic place to evoke the ongoing work for world peace. It is therefore not surprising that on July 9 and 10, a particularly striking interreligious event took place there. There, sixteen religious leaders from the Eastern world – Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Baha’is, Christians – met to sign a text presented by the Catholic Church proposing a charter of responsible behavior for those who develop and use artificial intelligence tools.

This “Call from Rome”, broadcast since February 2020, is spreading thanks to the commitment of Mgr Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy. Already, several major executives of large digital companies (IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, etc.) have committed to respecting this charter. A text that proposes an “algorethics” based on transparency (AI systems must be understandable), inclusion (taking into account the needs of all), responsibility, impartiality (without bias or prejudice), reliability, and respect for user security and confidentiality.

Pope Francis himself participated in the meeting through a message to underline the importance of this unprecedented meeting. For him, what is at stake in particular is to preserve the capacity of each human being to make choices freely and to maintain control over technological processes. For him, it is “human dignity itself (that) depends on it”. An urgent reminder that the Pope also repeated during his speech, also unprecedented, before the members of the G7 gathered in Italy last June. An urgent appeal also in view of the speed of the development of technologies, such as easy recognition, brain-machine interfaces, armed drones, etc.