In a message to a conference on "AI Ethics for Peace" held in Hiroshima on July 9-10, Pope Francis claimed that discussing peace in a city still scarred by the August 1945 atomic bomb has deep symbolic value. He said Artificial Intelligence and Peace are two fundamental challenges facing humanity today but hoped they may not prove to be like two trains running beside each other on parallel tracks but never really meeting.

Pope highlighted an appeal he had made weeks ago to the political leaders taking part in the G7 Summit held at Puglia, Italy. Pope emphasized that decision-making should be left in the hands of human beings, saying the machines make technical choices based on criteria or statistical inferences but true decisions call for human wisdom and evaluation.

Francis warned that an overreliance on AI jeopardized human dignity and equated the devastation of Hiroshima to what would be wrought. He begged the world to reconsider developing and engaging lethal autonomous weapons and to set a full ban on them. "No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being," he said in an inscription at the heart of his pontificate.

In the final message, Pope stressed that cultural and religious contributions of man to artificially intelligent machines in the area of regulation must be recognized. Otherwise, without recognition of responsibility, technological innovation will not turn out well. He ended by wishing that the outcome of the meeting might be successful with fraternity and collaboration and prayed that all those present may become instruments of peace for the world.