Pope calls for greater vigilance over children's access to AI

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence online and in schools demands stronger government-enforced safeguards, education in the critical use of media and more consistent monitoring by parents and teachers, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to manipulation through AI algorithms that can influence their decisions and preferences," the pope told academics, AI experts and professionals involved in child protection programs Nov. 13.

The group was participating in a conference, "The Dignity of Children and Adolescents in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," which was sponsored by Telefono Azzurro, an Italian hotline for children, and its foundation for research on the mental and physical health of children and teens.

Pope Leo told the group that as AI grows so must the tools needed "to monitor and guide young people's interactions with technology."

But that monitoring, he said, will not accomplish much if parents and teachers are not educated about the potential dangers of AI for young people.

And, the pope said, "governments and international organizations have a responsibility to design and implement policies that protect the dignity of minors in the AI era," including by "updating existing data protection laws to address new challenges posed by emerging technologies and promoting ethical standards for the development and use of AI."

Guidelines and restrictions will not work, however, without "daily, ongoing educational efforts carried out by adults who themselves are trained and supported by networks of collaboration," the pope said.

The adults' role, he said, includes understanding the risks that "premature, unlimited and unsupervised digital access may pose to the relationships and development of young people."

"Only by taking part in the discovery of such risks and the effects on their personal and social life, can minors be supported in approaching the digital world as a means of strengthening their ability to make responsible choices for themselves and for others," Pope Leo said.

The church is not opposed to the use of technology, including artificial intelligence, he said, but people must ensure that it "serves as an ally, not a threat, in the growth and development of children and adolescents."