When it comes to artificial intelligence, ethical issues often take center stage. It is clear even to non-experts that, from the perspective of technological innovation, artificial intelligence represents a major breakthrough and a huge step forward. In a sense, we are still in the early stages of this technology, but its potential is evident.
The subject of debate, however, is the ethical implications associated with them: the very fact that we speak of “intelligence” places machines on the same level as humans, and this frightens all those who argue that this could be the first step toward a future in which it is by no means certain that humans will actually benefit from the use of this new technology.
There are indeed many topics for discussion and arguments in support of a position and its opposite, and at times it becomes difficult to have a constructive debate on the technological, social, and ethical implications of AI.
What is Italy doing to dispel these doubts?
In January 2024, following Giuliano Amato’s resignation, Father Paolo Benanti was appointed chair of the commission on artificial intelligence for information. Father Benanti has a remarkable background in the field of technology: he earned a doctorate in moral theology, studied ethics at Georgetown University, served on the Monti government’s AI task force, and was selected by the Ministry of Economic Development to assess the strategic use of blockchain and artificial intelligence; he is also one of the 39 members of the United Nations’ New Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board. Finally, he serves as an advisor to Pope Francis on issues concerning ethics and artificial intelligence.
He is certainly well-qualified to tackle this issue, even though some argue that the strong religious convictions of the new chair of the AI commission will inevitably influence our country’s choices and decisions, placing undue emphasis on ethical considerations at the expense of the benefits that AI could bring us.
It is still too early to tell what direction our country will take in the future, but we can certainly offer some thoughts on the introduction of this new and powerful technology.
One of the concerns relates to jobs, with fears that AI could render certain professions obsolete. The reality is that this problem has indeed arisen during every industrial revolution, with less-skilled jobs gradually being replaced until they disappeared. The concern that AI might impact certain sectors is legitimate, although it’s important to note that it will also open the door to new professional roles.
Although AI is a technology we’ve been studying for about fifty years now, we hadn’t yet reached a point where we could envision its widespread use, as has been happening recently. Practical applications are still limited, but the fields of application are becoming increasingly clear; it seems to be simply a matter of time and improving efficiency. But even though it is highly likely that AI will become part of our reality and our daily lives, it is not appropriate to engage in ethical reasoning before we even begin to use it in practice.
As has been the case with other major technological inventions, such as nuclear power and cloning, it would be best to wait and see how this technology develops before deciding what to do.
Let’s take the famous sheep Dolly, the first cloned animal: humans realized they were capable of cloning animals, but once the technique was perfected, they decided not to use it. Various arguments—including ethical ones—were brought to the table, and in the end, it was decided not to proceed in that direction.
Or consider the atomic bomb and nuclear energy: even though the use of the atomic bomb represents a tragedy in human history, nuclear energy has applications from which humanity can derive (and is deriving) great benefits. Sometimes we need to develop a technology in order to understand how to use it (and how not to use it).
When discussing artificial intelligence, it is therefore important to keep speculation to a minimum, allowing time for the technology to develop and for experts to understand its implications from every angle. Only in this way will AI become a powerful tool at humanity’s disposal and cease to be perceived as a threat.
