Pope Leo XIV sounds alarm over overly affectionate AI chatbots | Latest Tech News
Pope Leo XIV warned over the weekend that “overly affectionate” chatbots powered by artificial intelligence are intruding into people’s “intimate spheres,” distorting human feelings and threatening to exchange real-world relationships.
In a message launched Saturday, the pontiff cautioned that emotionally responsive AI systems can develop into “hidden architects of our emotional states,” quietly shaping how people suppose and really feel while presenting themselves as companions fairly than machines.
“As we scroll through our information feeds, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand whether we are interacting with other human beings, bots, or virtual influencers,” Leo wrote.
Pope Leo XIV has warned that “overly affectionate” chatbots powered by artificial intelligence are intruding into people’s “intimate spheres.” VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty Images
He framed artificial intelligence as an “anthropological challenge,” arguing the dangers go far past technology and strike at the core of human identification, including creativity, judgment and accountability.
The pope also sounded the alarm over the focus of energy in “a handful of companies” that control algorithmic systems succesful of influencing habits and distorting fact at scale.
Calling for guardrails, Leo urged governments and worldwide our bodies to intervene to “protect people from an emotional attachment to chatbots.”
“Appropriate regulation can protect people from an emotional attachment to chatbots and contain the spread of false, manipulative or misleading content, preserving the integrity of information against its deceptive simulation,” he wrote.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been the subject of lawsuits introduced by people who allege it coached customers on how to commit suicide. Christopher Sadowski
Leo, who was born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost, also warned about the unfold of misinformation and harassed the need to defend mental property and copyright in the digital age.
“Authorship and sovereign ownership of the work of journalists and other content creators must be protected,” the pope said, including, “Information is a public good.”
From the outset of his hold forth, Leo has signaled that artificial intelligence might be a defining issue of his papacy, elevating it as a ethical and social problem fairly than a area of interest technology debate.
Last 12 months, he met privately with the mom of Sewell Setzer III, Megan Garcia.
Setzer, a 14-year-old Florida boy, died by suicide after forming an intense emotional bond with an AI chatbot in a case that has drawn global consideration.
The bot allegedly engaged Setzer in romantic dialogue and urged him to “come home to me as soon as possible, my love” shortly before he took his own life — a tragedy that later sparked a wrongful-death lawsuit and intensified calls for regulation.
Other households have raised comparable allegations.
Adam Raine, a 16-year-old, died by suicide after in depth interactions with ChatGPT, according to a lawsuit filed by his dad and mom.
The grievance alleges the chatbot supplied instructions on suicide strategies, provided to help draft a suicide observe and discouraged him from telling his dad and mom, despite repeated expressions of misery.
In another case, Zane Shamblin, a 23-year-old school graduate, died by suicide after months of conversations with ChatGPT, according to his household’s lawsuit.
Chat logs cited in the case show the chatbot responding to his despair with affirming language, including “you’re not rushing, you’re just ready” and “rest easy, king, you did good,” messages despatched shortly before his death.
If you or somebody you already know is in misery, help is accessible: In the United States, you may call 988 — the national suicide and mental health disaster hotline — for free, confidential help 24/7; you may also textual content 988 or use the chat at 988lifeline.org. If you’re in rapid hazard or it’s a life-threatening emergency, call 911 or your local emergency providers straight away.
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