Warning of 'risk to our survival,' pope calls for global treaty on AI

He embraced its promise too, saying AI offered "exciting opportunities" and describing it as the "brilliant product" of humanity's creative potential. But he focused mostly on risks. At a time when smart drones are already being deployed on the battlefields of Ukraine, Francis called the rise of "Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, including the weaponization of artificial intelligence" a cause for "grave ethical concern." A machine, he said, should not be making life and death decisions.