The President of the Republic sent his best wishes to Pope Leo XIV, who blows out 71 candles today. The letter to the Holy Father also includes a reflection on artificial intelligence, following the questions raised by the researchers
Sergio Mattarella speaks of a complex and restless historical moment, characterized by the threat and use of force and also by new technologies that offer possibilities but also social and economic disparities. In the message sent to the Pontiff who turns 71 today, the President of the Republic addresses the topic of new technologies, which in recent days has once again become central in the international debate.
Mattarella's message
"We are going through a complex and restless historical moment. The threat, if not the use, of force returns to prevail, while contempt for the rules, growing inequities and multiple disastrous consequences of climate change are causing suffering for many innocent people", wrote Mattarella in the message sent to the Holy Father. "At the same time, new technologies open up unusual possibilities, but they also risk jeopardizing the centrality of the human being, widening already existing social and economic disparities", continued the President of the Republic.
Dario Amodei's warning
Mattarella's words come after Dario Amodei's warning. The number one of Anthropic has in fact called for slowing down the pace of development of artificial intelligence. In a long post on his website, Amodei wrote: "Progress will continue to seem rapid, and we must make wise use of the time we gain." The message arrived a few days after an Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, announced he was leaving the Californian start-up, accusing it of downplaying the existential risk that AI poses to humanity.
Amodei said AI technology has progressed “drastically faster” in recent months and is now capable of self-improving – a dynamic known as “recursive self-improvement.” “If left unchecked, it could surpass our ability to understand and control these systems, and therefore must be pursued with extreme caution, if it were ever to be done,” he warned.
The support of Musk and Altman
Amodei's invitation found support from global competitors, Elon Musk and Sam Altman. A communion of intent that is not to be taken for granted. The former, CEO of “I agree with him on the need to manage the pace of development of frontier technologies,” said Altman: “It has been one of the central themes of the discussions we have had at OpenAI in recent weeks. The idea of using independent evaluators, with levels of access comparable to those of employees, is excellent; we will adopt the same strategy. More news to share soon.”
Trump's words
Among those who disagreed with Amodei's words was US President Donald Trump. The head of the White House criticized those who want to slow down the development of AI, referring to the words coming from the American giants of the sector. “I believe there are many negative forces that raise the issue without reason, bringing up scenarios that will not happen,” the president said.
"We are ahead of China in artificial intelligence, we are the most advanced country in the world. And frankly, I want it to stay that way, because whoever wins in the field of AI, wins over everyone," Trump declared in response to a question from journalists, returning from Ireland. The president has dismissed calls to regulate or slow the development of AI over fears it could spiral out of control. "We can introduce safeguards, we can do this and that, but I think there are a lot of negative forces raising the issue, bringing up things that aren't going to happen."
