In Paris, Pope warns against losing humanity in ‘paradise of machines’

Pope Leo on Friday warned against losing humanity in a “paradise of machines”, after church bells rang and thousands gathered to welcome him to France amid worldwide concern over the dangers of artificial intelligence.

“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment,” Leo said after President Emmanuel Macron welcomed him to the presidential palace, on the first of four days in the country.

On the first official papal trip in 18 years to a proudly secular country that has since 1905 separated church and state, the pope also stressed that “authentic secularity” should not exclude religion.

It “consists not in excluding religion from the public sphere or from education, but in striving to ensure that the state and religious institutions maintain dialogue and join forces in the service of the common good,” the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said.