Archbishop Caccia delivers statement at the ECOSOC Special Meeting on Artificial Intelligence

By H. E. Archbishop Gabriele CacciaApostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations

New York, 6 May 2025

Fireside chat 1: Emerging trends of AI innovations and the SDGs.

Guiding question: How can policymakers, private sector leaders, academia and civil society work together to balance AI regulation and innovation, ensuring that ethical considerations remain at the core of AI development and deployment?

Mr. President,

My Delegation welcomes the convening of this special meeting and would like to share some thoughts on how to ensure that ethical considerations remain at the core of the development and deployment of AI.

Artificial Intelligence is an extraordinary technological achievement that also poses many risks. For this reason, the international community has an important responsibility to regulate the use of AI in its many forms.

To develop such regulation, it is essential to base it on common ethical principles that can also guide governance structures, such as the Global Dialogue on AI and the Independent International Scientific Panel.

Indeed, a healthy policy on AI requires that technological innovations be placed within the larger project of seeking the common good. In this sense, the Holy See considers it crucial to ensure that the development and use of AI always remain at the service of men and women, promoting fraternity and preserving critical thinking and the capacity for discernment.

Mr. President,

The Rome Call for Ethics, issued in 2020 by the Pontifical Academy for Life, outlines a number of fundamental ethical principles such as transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality, reliability and privacy.

This initiative has brought together many signatories including Governments, International Organizations, other institutions and the private sector, and has been endorsed by many more. It is a concrete example of stakeholders coming together to define an ethical basis that will be essential for future regulatory frameworks and to assist lawmakers in their efforts to balance AI innovation and regulation, while seeking to “promote the responsible and ethical use of science, technology and innovation,” as agreed in the Pact for the Future, of which the Global Digital Compact is an annex.

Thank you, Mr. President.