AI Safety Warnings

Researchers warn AI development could extinguish humanity due to rapid progress and US-China rivalry.

Father Paolo Benanti’s View

Benanti says ethics must be debated publicly, not controlled by company boards, for democratic regulation.

“Ethics cannot be something that belongs to the board of trustees of a company. It’s something that has to be balanced, mitigated in debate in the public square.”

AI Safety Proposals

Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei calls for mandatory third-party AI model evaluations and crackdown on distillation.

Cartel Concerns

Benanti warns big labs form a cartel by self-interestedly dictating AI rules without public input.

“This has a really clear name: a cartel.”

Superintelligence Debate

Benanti criticizes AI industry’s reverence for superintelligence as divine, saying it risks delusion about machine capabilities.

“We are not building the next divinity. We are simply deluding ourselves that there is something more than statistical computation.”

Pope’s Encyclical

Pope Leo XIV published an encyclical on AI, warning against technocratic logic and urging international collaboration.

“The danger of humanity becoming a victim of its own achievements.”

Human Control Needed

Benanti stresses the need for human brakes and control over AI to prevent lab dominance.

“We need brakes, and a wheel. That means a significant position of control for human beings over the machine.”