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. Leo urged the world "to promote dialogue, study, investigation, to find ways ⁠to make sure that AI does not get to a point where it could ⁠destroy humanity."

"I think ⁠that there are enough people seriously interested in that … but we have to keep working," said the pope. "We can't just sit back and ‌pretend nothing's ‌going to happen."