- Feb 5, 2002
- 181,794
- 65,738
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
The Catholic Church has experienced several times the risks of AI. This may have contributed to Pope Francis' commitment to AI ethics.
In January 2024, in a long speech addressed to the media and communicators, Pope Francis expressed a number of concerns regarding artificial intelligence, targeting in particular the problem of “deepfakes,” a technology that “distorts our relationship with others and with reality.”
“I've been the object of it myself,” he noted.
In fact, a year earlier, a doctored photo of Francis in a long white jacket, inspired by the Balenciaga fashion label, had been one of the first media successes in AI image generation. The photo was shared several hundred thousand times.
We now know that it was created by a certain Pablo Xavier, 31, after the Chicago resident ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms. The individual claimed to have no intention of harming the Pontiff, but merely wished to deceive and entertain users of an Internet forum.
Continued below.
In January 2024, in a long speech addressed to the media and communicators, Pope Francis expressed a number of concerns regarding artificial intelligence, targeting in particular the problem of “deepfakes,” a technology that “distorts our relationship with others and with reality.”
“I've been the object of it myself,” he noted.
In fact, a year earlier, a doctored photo of Francis in a long white jacket, inspired by the Balenciaga fashion label, had been one of the first media successes in AI image generation. The photo was shared several hundred thousand times.
We now know that it was created by a certain Pablo Xavier, 31, after the Chicago resident ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms. The individual claimed to have no intention of harming the Pontiff, but merely wished to deceive and entertain users of an Internet forum.
Continued below.

When the Church falls victim to artificial intelligence
The Catholic Church has experienced several times recently the risks of AI. This may have contributed to Pope Francis' commitment to AI ethics.
aleteia.org