Artificial intelligence must not hurt the most vulnerable, pope says

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist tells the people who Jesus is and what his mission is to be. He is God’s Chosen One, the Anointed, who will take away people’s sins. He is the ‘Servant of the Lord’ of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke, who will gather, not only the scattered tribes of Israel, but all nations and bring them back to God. John is pointing him out to us, too, as our salvation. The call of John the Baptist is for us to take stock of ourselves and to make changes, to reflect on what we are really about in this world and to seek to review and reset our lives. This means that Jesus Christ is to be the focus of our lives and not just someone barely recognisable on the margins looking on. 

John points out Jesus as the one who takes away the sins of the world. Clearly, Jesus’ mission led to him being involved with sinners. When our sins are taken away, we are relieved of a great burden and we are able to go forward in life freely. But this is easier said than done. First of all we have to be conscious of our sin and accept full responsibility for what we have done. Blaming others means that we have not accepted personal responsibility. And after we have been forgiven, it doesn’t mean that life will be all easy after we are forgiven. We do not suddenly become different people. We still have our old weaknesses, and our bad habits and desires still remain with us. It means that we still have to struggle to overcome the evil that lies within. Jesus comes to us and brings out the goodness that exists in us. He comes to us, not because we are good and holy people, but because we are sinful people who need to recognise that we are good at heart. Evil can only be conquered by goodness. ❖ Pope Francis leads an audience with participants of the Rome Call for AI ethics meeting, at the Vatican Jan. 10, 2023. VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis criticized the use of artificial intelligence in ways that negatively affect the most vulnerable, specifically those seeking asylum. “It is not acceptable that the decision about someone’s life and future be entrusted to an algorithm,” he said Jan. 10 in an address to experts and religious leaders taking part in an event sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life promoting the ethical development of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence “is increasingly present in every aspect of daily life,” the pope said, and it is increasingly being used in decision making. “Every person must be able to enjoy a human and supportive development, without anyone being excluded,” he said. “We must therefore be vigilant and work to ensure that the discriminatory use of these instruments does not take root at the expense of the most fragile and excluded,” he said, specifically noting, “the example of asylum seekers.” Artificial intelligence tools, such as biometric data collection using iris and fingerprint recognition technology and data scraping technology to screen, track or locate individuals, are increasingly being used for immigration and asylum controls, prioritization and management. While the tools promise increased efficiency, critics point to concerns about transparency and the risk of violating people’s human rights, privacy and safety. The Jan. 10 event at the Vatican included the signing of the academy’s Rome Call for AI Ethics by representatives of the three Abrahamic religions:

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the papal academy; Chief Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz, member of the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel; and Sheikh Al-Mahfoudh bin Abdallah of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, and Dario Gil, global vice president of IBM, who were among the first signatories of the Rome Call in 2020 also attended the event and the papal audience. In his address, Pope Francis encouraged participants in their work, saying he was “pleased to know that you also wish to involve the other great world religions and men and women of goodwill so that ‘algor-ethics’ — ethical reflection on the use of algorithms — will be increasingly present not only in public debate, but also in the development of technical solutions.”❖

On Sunday, January 8th - the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord - the Upper Corentyne cluster commissioned and recommissioned 21 Lay Ministers from the parishes of St. Francis Xavier (Port Mourant), St. Joachim’s (Springlands), Holy Name (Black Bush Polder), and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission (Siparuta). The individuals participated in a 6-month extensive and comprehensive training program held at the different parishes which commenced in July, 2022. The sessions were hosted and guided by the parish priest of the cluster - Fr. Ramesh Vanan SJ. Each session generally concluded with mass and the reading materials from each session were shared for future reference. The sessions were found to be very interactive and practical which gave the participants a sense of community and fellowship. Fr. Ramesh, while commissioning said, “the wait is over, the preparation is done, and it’s time to be missioned,” The lay ministers were asked to serve with patience and understanding. They were cautioned to first of all practice their faith and to pass on the correct teachings of the church to those they minister to. He also advised the ministers that the journey would not be an easy one and they should expect criticisms and other stumbling blocks. This they must do so by focusing on the bigger pictureserving God’s people.❖