“Some people treat AIs like idols, like oracles, like demigods,” Benanti told POLITICO. “The risk is that they delegate critical thinking and decisional power to these machines.”
The 50-year-old Padre has made his mark on AI diplomacy through strategy papers like the Rome Call for AI Ethics, the Holy See’s bid to establish the moral ground rules for the emerging technology.
This set of essential principles — transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security and privacy — for AI design has bagged the backing of tech giants Microsoft and IBM, religious leaders the world over, Italy’s government and the United Nations’ Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization.
“The biggest risk is that AI will make or be used to make decisions on people’s lives in a surreptitious, non-democratic way,” Benanti said. “That’s why we need a grassroots governance process steering innovation towards progress.”
As the chief architect of the Rome Call, Benanti has become a household name among tech grandees, with Microsoft President Brad Smith even hosting him on his podcast last year.
But Benanti is also a strategic adviser to the Italian government, with Meloni often mentioning “algor-ethics,” a phrase he coined. Benanti even flanked the Italian premier at a recent meeting with Microsoft founder Bill Gates last month.
