Pope Leo says concerns about AI doom are not 'fake news'

Pope ​Leo on Monday said concerns ​that artificial intelligence could ‌destroy the ​world are not "fake news" and should be taken seriously, in an apparent rebuke of US ‌President Donald Trump. The first US pope, who has warned of the dangers of AI throughout his 16-month papacy, also directly criticized technology CEOs ‌who argued there should be no guardrails on the technology.

"I do ‌think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously," the pontiff said in a press conference on his ⁠flight ​back to Rome ⁠after a four-day trip to France. "I don't think that that is fake news, as ⁠some have said." Trump told the UN General Assembly last week that ​he believed fears about the dangers to humanity from AI were ⁠a "hoax."

The pope said he had read on Monday that the head of chipmaker Nvidia ⁠had ​announced there could be a way to insert guardrails into certain AI models. But Leo expressed scepticism, adding: "He's the same ⁠one, however, that says there should be no limits placed and no ⁠government regulation." Nvidia ⁠chief executive Jensen Huang told CBS News this month that he agreed with Trump that safety concerns ‌about AI ‌were overblown.