AI Commission on Information: Benanti's presidency in the name of algorithms

 Father Paolo Benanti , theologian of the Third Regular Order of Saint Francis, former professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University and advisor to Pope Francis on the themes of artificial intelligence and technological ethics as well as member of the UN Committee on AI, since January 5, 2024 he has been the new president of the Government Commission on Artificial Intelligence, in place of the resigning Giuliano Amato . We think it's helpful to offer some thoughts on the change of pace; but to do this, it is essential to start from your thoughts.

Father Benanti and his thoughts

The appointment of Father Benanti is not accidental. A few years ago, he managed to bring together representatives of different religions, such as Muslims, Jews and Christians, around the same table, having them sign the same common agreement focused on a model of intelligence development. artificial CD based. “  algorithmic ”.

Father Benanti's thinking is therefore mainly oriented towards ethics.

The philosophy of algorithmethics and algocracy

Algorethics is a neologism belonging to Father Benanti, recognized as such by the Lincei Academy, which designates “the investigation of ethical problems linked to the use of artificial intelligence and, in particular, of tools based on algorithms”, by definition.

In short, and said differently, an ethics always made by men, but calculable by a machine . Not only that, we also add the CD. “  algocracy ” which rather describes the phenomenon of “the increasing use of computer algorithms and AI in order to exercise control over any aspect of the daily life of individuals”, always by definition.

On the other hand, as Benanti himself reports in an interview, “…the link between AI and information is crucial. ". And to support the weight of this assertion he puts three themes on the table:

• the first concerning the valorization of the profession of journalist, a guarantee figure in the democratic process, goes so far as to underline how in journalism there is “… a strong social mission that the automation of information would lead to extinction” ;
• the second, evoking "the sustainability of the profession " comes to clearly consider that "automation has an impact on the publishing industry, undermining it from an economic point of view" as an effect likely to make problematic the continuation (of the role) of journalism;
• the third theme on the table is given by the presence of major players , some of whom are publishers without having a clear idea of ​​the responsibility they have in the face of these issues.

This is why Father Benanti considers AI management to be essential “secondly”. ethical and social justice criteria ”. Otherwise, we risk having devastating, complicated, or even weakened effects on the capacity for cohesion between States.

AI for the common good

Furthermore, according to Father Benanti, “the Church can make an important contribution in favor of the humanization of these powerful new technologies designed to serve for a common good . Rather than a simple instrument of power.

More generally, the Chiesa cannot avoid the debate about artificial intelligence being an entity that has the reputation of being an “expert in humanity”.

Artificial intelligence and the vision of Pope Francis on World Peace Day – GMP

The 57th World Peace Day was celebrated on January 1, 2024, with the central theme “Artificial Intelligence and Peace”. The message is eloquent in its scope from the title of the GMP: “ artificial intelligence is ethical and for peace ”.

Ethics and peace are two absolutely central themes of the current historical moment. On the one hand, there is the “desire to understand new and mysterious technology”. On the other hand, in his message, Pope Francis associates artificial intelligence and peace with ethics.

But that's not all: Pope Francis also affirms that "progress in science and technology (...) leads... to the improvement of man and the transformation of the world", even if he considers that “technico-scientific progress” (…) places in the hands of man a vast range of possibilities, some of which can represent a risk for survival and a danger for the common home.”

Still on scientific research and presumed neutrality, Pope Francis clearly states that “scientific research and technological innovations are not disembodied from reality and neutral but subject to cultural influences (…) the results they obtain (…) always have an ethical dimension.

In practice, ethics has a disruptive impact in this context.

Pope Francis then recalls that ethics takes on a universal dimension to the extent that, another interesting passage, “ the intrinsic dignity of each person and the fraternity which binds us as members of the one human family must underlie the development of new technologies and serve as indisputable criteria ”.

And here comes the ethical push again.

The Government Commission on Artificial Intelligence: task and function

The Italian Government Commission on Artificial Intelligence or more commonly known as the “Algorithms Commission” it (was) created by the Department of Information and Publishing, reporting to the Presidency of the Council, and is composed of university professors and a few journalists.

This Commission's mission is to advise the ministry on the strategies to follow in order to manage the implications of artificial intelligence software on the information sector. It therefore has a mainly advisory function with the responsibility of preparing certain reports on the progress of these issues.

We would also like to point out that the work of this all-Italian Commission began on October 24, 2023, with the hope of producing in the first months of this new year 2024 a first report containing guidelines on:

• use

• development

• related implications of artificial intelligence.

This will be a report which will be submitted to the Government, also with a view to future European and international comparisons.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the appointment of Father Benanti, if on the one hand reassuring since he is one of the leading experts in AI with a highly ethical approach – either for the clothes he wears or for the theories he has formulated -, on the other hand produces the risk that, whoever is named, a single dominant thought will be created