Karol Darmoros
For three days, Castel Gandolfo became the venue for a debate among Nobel laureates, experts, and representatives of tech giants on the development of artificial intelligence and its impact on the human condition. An important point of the last day of the program is the signing of the Roman Declaration, which aims to promote a vision of international security based on cooperation, human dignity, and integral development – Vatican News reports.
Technology and Responsibility
Cardinal Reina noted that the development of science and technology opens up possibilities in healthcare, fighting poverty, and building peace. However, detached from ethics and human dignity, it can become a tool of domination, exclusion, and even destruction.
“The decisive issue is therefore not technology itself, but the human heart that guides it, the conscience that manages it, the politics that regulates it, and the international community that takes responsibility for it,” the cardinal said.
Humanity at the Center
The hierarch emphasized that decisions concerning life and death, peace and war, and the future of nations must remain under full, responsible, and real human control. “The speed of artificial intelligence cannot override the value of conscience. The effectiveness of digital systems cannot replace moral discernment and the importance of choices,” he noted.
The Roman Declaration calls for preventing AI from independently authorizing or initiating the use of nuclear weapons, strengthening communication between states, preventing miscalculations and unintended escalation, and developing international AI governance.
Fragile Balance of Fear
Cardinal Reina warned that security based on the threat of mutual destruction remains fragile and vulnerable to error or sudden crisis. “Peace cannot be based on a balance of fear,” he stated.
He recalled that Leo XIV presented the world with a vision of “disarmed and disarming peace.” As he explained, this means not only limiting arsenals but also disarming minds, language, economy, and international relations, and transitioning from a war economy to a peace economy.
Declaration as a Process
Cardinal Reina expressed hope that the document will not remain a text but will become a process leading to decisions, education, and international responsibility. “Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is a sublime form of intelligence,” he emphasized.
