-Analysis-
When ChatGPT was launched, on Nov. 30, 2022, the world as we knew it no longer seemed the same. It was not until that date, in fact, that we all realized that artificial intelligence had entered our lives. Yet AI was already alongside us in many jobs and situations helping to change, one piece of code at a time, our society and the very way we think about life, professions and everything around us.
It is with this new awareness that the Franciscan Father Paolo Benanti, a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the only Italian member of the UN Committee on Artificial Intelligence, was recently appointed as the new president of Italy’s AI Commission on Information.
In recent years, there has been no shortage of debates about the end of work due to this new discovery, or alarms toward an impending technological singularity. There are also, more simply, fears about the misuse of AI, for example, in the production of fake news. That is a very real concern given that many countries around the world will vote in 2024.
As Rector of the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT), I also hear a lot of questioning about the role AI can play within our higher education system. But I think this questioning is happening without understanding the real scope of the transformation taking place.
Father Benanti uses the plural to speak about artificial intelligences and AI systems, reminding us that their impact depends on their design, subsequent implementations and various uses. Therein lies the crux of the issue. AI’s impact is bound to be widespread and to fundamentally change our society, revolutionizing it in ways we do not always yet grasp. Hence certain fears arise. But in reality we are facing the fourth General Purpose Technology (GPT), that is, a profound and irreversible transformation of our society, our lives and of course our jobs — all jobs — is underway.
The fundamental values of humanity in AI
The only comparable references are the arrival of the steam engine and electricity. Just as with those transformations, both great enthusiasm and a few alarms are raised. I do not know whether they are unjustified — because it is easy for me to think of a distortive use of an AI system. They are certainly understandable because AI’s ability to accelerate change is superior to any other innovation that humankind has so far produced. The ability of these machines, or rather these complex algorithms to produce narratives, and therefore to seize what is most inherent to humans, requires much attention.
This is an unstoppable revolution.
I think it requires an approach that is able to go beyond the technical aspects. That is why the recent appointment of Father Benanti, a theologian and philosopher, seemed to me to be a sign of great awareness. Ethics and, I would also add, philosophy must become a central issue as we move forward in the development and use of AI. Only in this way will it be possible to follow a path in which humanity’s rights and fundamental values remain at the center of these systems.
Otherwise, the fear is that man is no longer the ultimate measure and purpose of innovation, and that we are instead faced with technology’s indiscriminate domination. We would be in the presence of a kind of “algocracy” in which genuine human development would be impossible. That is why the institutions called upon to play an active role in education must take responsibility for helping us to understand and apply AI.
Algorethics vs. algocracy
Father Benanti on several occasions spoke of algorethics, contrasting it in some ways precisely with algocracy. This is an important point: we have to ensure that new generations can become aware and responsible in dealing with, using or developing algorithms. OPIT has embraced this mission. That is why we have integrated AI into our educational offerings, applied across the board and with different angles (from technical, to application, to enabling).
We have taken on the challenge, and have decided to become a driver of change by training highly qualified professionals to interact, work, dialogue and use AI in an ethical way. This will allow us to seize the opportunities that this new tool offers.
Rejecting this innovation would be a decisive step backward for Italy, which instead must confront and learn how to best use these new technologies to compete in markets around the world. Furthermore, rejecting AI would not align with the history of humankind, our curiosity and ultimately our humanity.
Embracing this challenge is possible and necessary, but as we have realized, it must be done with an ethical perspective. That is why it is crucial that our institutions act boldly in the education of future generations. This is an unstoppable revolution.
