# Holy See: AI in agrifood systems must center humans

> Archbishop Balestrero urges AI in food systems to prioritize human dignity over technology.
- Title: Holy See: AI in agrifood systems must center humans | Shortify
- Summary: Archbishop Balestrero urges AI in food systems to prioritize human dignity over technology. Archbishop Ettore Balestrero says AI in agrifood systems must…
- Keywords: holy see, agrifood systems, human dignity, united nations, food and agriculture organization, pope leo xiv, religion, world, Holy, See, agrifood, systems
- Source: Vaticannews — https://vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-10/holy-see-mission-un-artificial-intelligence-agriculture-tech.html
- Author: Vatican News
- Published: 2026-10-06T14:07:56.235+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: holy see, ai, agrifood systems, human dignity, united nations, food and agriculture organization, pope leo xiv, religion, world
## Archbishop Ettore Balestrero speaks
Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the UN in Geneva, emphasized human dignity in AI applications for agrifood systems at a UN event on October 5, 2026.

> In an age where technology has extended life expectancy, has spread globally, and has opened new frontiers for development, to allow millions to die of hunger is simply a collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical shame
## Event organized by FAO and Holy See
The conference on human-centered AI for agrifood systems was held in Geneva on October 5, 2026, co-organized by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the Holy See's Permanent Mission.
## Hunger statistics cited
Archbishop Balestrero referenced Pope Leo XIV's 2025 visit to FAO, noting 673 million people worldwide go to bed without eating and 2.3 billion cannot afford a nutritionally adequate diet.
## AI benefits for small farmers
AI tools can help small farmers access agronomic knowledge, markets, and early warnings, offering transformative potential for productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
## Human dignity must guide AI
Archbishop Balestrero stressed that AI in agrifood systems must prioritize God-given human dignity and integral development, as outlined in Pope Leo's encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas'.

> technology is never neutral
## Ethical governance needed
The international community must establish ethical AI governance and regulatory tools to uphold justice and prevent misuse in agrifood systems.
## AI must serve humanity
Placing humans at the core of AI policy ensures innovation serves humanity, not reducing people to data points or datasets.

> If a farmer is reduced merely to a data point, or a rural community considered simply as a dataset, then we must ask whether progress is truly achieved
## Key takeaway

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero says AI in agrifood systems must place human dignity at the center to end hunger, not technology alone.