Pope Francis on Thursday warned of the dangers of misinformation and its spread through social media and artificial intelligence (AI), warning that it could be “exploited to manipulate minds.”
In his traditional New Year’s address to diplomats at the Vatican, Francis said that society’s polarization was “exacerbated by the continued creation and spread of fake news that distorts not only facts but also perceptions.” I lamented the progress I was making.
“This phenomenon creates a false image of reality, a climate of suspicion that incites hatred, undermines people’s sense of security, undermines the coexistence of citizens and the stability of the country as a whole,” the 88-year-old pope said.
Francis regularly denounces fake news.
But his comments on Thursday came two days after tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook, announced it would end its third-party fact-checking program in the United States and introduce a crowdsourcing model to crack down on disinformation. Ta. Elon Musk’s X.
In his address to political leaders, the Pope said: “In our time, the denial of self-evident truths seems to be gaining the upper hand.”
“These tendencies can be amplified by modern communication media and artificial intelligence, and can be exploited to manipulate minds for economic, political, and ideological purposes.” added.
Francis, who has been the leader of the global Catholic Church since 2013, emphasized the need for media literacy education to promote critical thinking.
Because he had a cold, he did not give a speech himself, but a senior clergyman read it on his behalf.
In his speech, the Pope also warned against a “cancel culture” that “does not tolerate any differences and emphasizes individual rights at the expense of obligations to others, especially the most vulnerable.”
He described “particularly worrying” attempts to “manipulate multilateral instruments, including changing the meaning of terms and unilaterally reinterpreting the content of human rights treaties, in order to advance divisive ideologies.” He cited an attempt to do so.
“In this regard, it is unacceptable, for example, to speak of the alleged ‘right to abortion’, which is contrary to human rights, especially the right to life,” he said.
President Francis also warned that multilateral institutions risk becoming “like-minded clubs that accept only like-minded people” and therefore “no longer seem capable of ensuring peace and stability.”
