Holy See: Technology should better human life, not take it

By Devin Watkins

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero spoke recenty at a UN forum in Geneva on the need to closely monitor the development of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), colloquially called “killer robots”.

The Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva addressed the second session of the 2024 group of government experts on emerging technologies in LAWS on August 26.

Opening his speech, Archbishop Balestrero repeated Pope Francis’ words to G7 leaders in June 2024 about the need to ban LAWS.

On that occasion, the Pope said human beings must always remain in control of any weapon system, adding: “No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”

The Archbishop said the Holy See seeks a legally binding agreement to regulate research into the weaponization of artificial intelligence (AI) and a moratorium on their development and use.

He lamented that countries are using theaters of war to test LAWS.

“It is profoundly distressing,” he said, “that, adding to the suffering caused by armed conflicts, the battlefields are also becoming testing grounds for more and more sophisticated weapons.”

Archbishop Balestrero said the Holy See supports UN efforts to analyze the “potential functions and technological aspects of automous weapons systems” in order to correctly assess whether they conform to existing norms and international regulations.

The Archbishop added that the Holy See maintains that LAWS can never be considered “morally responsible entities.”

“The human person, endowed with reason, possesses a unique capacity for moral judgement and ethical decision-making that cannot be replicated by any set of algorithms, no matter how complex,” he said.

Archbishop Balestrero pointed to the ethical difference between a “choice” and a “decision.”

A decision, he said, requires practical evaluation that goes beyond a simple choice and involves consideration of values and duties.

“While pointing out that machines merely produce technical algorithmic choices,” he said, “Pope Francis recalled that ‘human beings, however, not only choose, but in their hearts are capable of deciding’.”

Therefore, noted Archbishop Balestrero, the Holy See calls for deliberate language that refers to human dignity and ethical considerations.

He said international agreements must “to ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programs: human dignity itself depends on it.”

In conclusion, the Holy See’s representative in Geneva said the development of more sophisticated weapons is not the solution to the world’s problems.

“The undoubted benefits that humanity will be able to draw from the current technological progress,” he said, “will depend on the degree to which such progress is accompanied by an adequate development of responsibility and values that place technological advancements at the service of integral human development and of the common good.”