A delegation representing the Holy See this week urged the United Nations to impose a moratorium on autonomous weapons designed to kill without human decision-making.
Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, gave the warning on Monday during an expert session on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS).
“For the Holy See, autonomous weapons systems cannot be considered morally responsible entities,” Balestrero explained. “The human person, endowed with reason, possesses a unique capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making that cannot be replicated by any set of algorithms, however complex they may be.”
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The flag of Vatican City flies in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
At the heart of the Holy See's warning is concern about the machines' inability to understand or value human dignity, a missing capacity that allows real combatants to make moral decisions based on abstract reasoning and empathy.
The statement drew heavily on Pope Francis' previously published writings and speeches on the risks of unbridled research into artificial intelligence.
“The Holy See considers it of fundamental importance to keep references to human dignity and ethical considerations at the centre of our deliberations. It is necessary to 'ensure and safeguard a space for adequate human control over decisions taken by artificial intelligence programmes: human dignity itself depends on it',” the permanent observer said, citing Pope Francis.
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“The development of increasingly sophisticated weapons is undoubtedly No “The solution,” Balestrero concluded, “the undoubted benefits that humanity will be able to derive from current technological progress will depend on the degree to which it is accompanied by an adequate development of responsibility and values that place technological advances at the service of integral human development and the common good.”
A general view shows St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square during the Pope's Easter Sunday mass in Vatican City. (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
The Catholic Church has been cautiously receptive to the implementation of artificial intelligence technology in society, but has repeatedly warned the faithful that human lives and critical decisions can never be left to programs.
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The Holy See is a sovereign legal entity under international law that represents the papacy and its jurisdiction over the entire Catholic Church. It is distinct from both the sovereign nation of Vatican City and the Catholic Church as a supranational institution. It also transcends the individual who holds the title of “pope” at any given time.
The Holy See has held non-voting observer status at the United Nations since 1964. It is one of only two entities with such a designation; the other being the State of Palestine.
