Jo McKenna: Italy Correspondent on Pope Leo XIV calling to regulate AI in his first major teaching
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
International Correspondence with NZI Insurance.
Peace of mind for New Zealand business. Joe's doing Tuesday morning for us. Josephine, what a thrill to hear your voice. Good morning, Mike. He needs his own talk show. He's got an opinion on everything, this guy.
Well, it's interesting that he chose his first major document, the first major document of his papacy to talk about humanity. And the biggest threat to humanity, of course, is artificial intelligence, according to him. And he says it must be disarmed, it must be controlled. He sees it as a threat, accelerating wars and slashing jobs and dominating our humanity. So that's his take on it.
So he's anti-AI as opposed to let's just control it, regulate it and rein it in a little bit.
I think he wants to rein it in a bit. I don't know that he's totally against it. He can see some positives, but he sees it as a way of dominating the culture, a culture of power that he talks about. And the tech bros are not going to be very happy about that, I don't imagine.
What is Pope Leo XIV's stance on artificial intelligence?
There's plenty of reports around saying it's killing our ability to learn, of course. Now, how's Maloney gone and the locals? Has she made up for the justice referendum?
Well, she's crowing tonight. The polls for the mayoral elections in 750 Italian councils across Italy show pretty much victories for the centre-right, some predictable wins for the centre-left in places like Tuscany, but they've done well winning in Venice and Reggio Calabria. So she's been saying tonight, you know, I'm not out of it yet, don't write me off just yet.
No, fair enough too. Has she moved the vote in her time in power?
What threats does the Pope associate with AI?
In other words, has Italy moved to the centre or centre-right materially?
Well, we see that in terms of her popularity, which is still quite strong, and I think in certain parts of the country, looking at these votes, you might think that there has been a shift, but I think it is a bit uneven. I'd like to see a little bit more overnight and see what's reflected in the morning figures.
And what's the interest in this? What's the turnout? I mean, is anyone actually voting?
Well, 6.6 million Italians were eligible to vote, and the turnout was around 60%, slightly lower than last time.
I would have thought 60% in a local election wasn't bad at all. Now, do tell me, because we had Grant Dalton on last week with the America's Cup, these prelims say you're in the 40s, not the 72s, and all that sort of stuff. Is there a buzz in Italy around the America's Cup?
I knew you were going to ask me that. I was watching the race tonight. I have to say it was pretty exciting. And what I want to tell you about is the commentator. Because when the Italians went across the line, he said, oh, you know, it's competence that wins. It's talent that wins. It's intelligence that wins.
How does the Pope suggest we should regulate AI?
Okay. Nothing to do with the actual sailing. But Luna Rossa won, of course, and that's, I don't know. In talking to Grant last week, he seemed to indicate that we would, New Zealand, would like to win it, but he seemed to feel that Luna Rossa had the edge on us at this particular point in time.
Well, they just looked so amazing crossing that line. They were going so fast. The conditions seemed to be ideal. Is there a buzz in Italy? Not yet, but I wonder if that might build, because the local... You know, when the people who are watching the races are really into it.
What positive aspects of AI does Pope Leo acknowledge?
Yeah, exactly. Leah, you realise you've nicked Peter Burling from us, don't you?
Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I mean, he must be the most unpopular man in New Zealand at the moment.
Well, I mean, there's a little bit of background material in there and whether or not he was staying on and what capacity he was staying on. But, of course, the fact he may end up beating us if Lunarosa can take off and run, that's quite something. So I think that's where the interest, because Grant was suggesting if it is by the time you get to the end of the America's Cup proper next year and it's Lunarosa v Team New Zealand, it'll, in his words, go off. How hot you got at the moment, by the way?
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:04
2
What is Pope Leo XIV's stance on artificial intelligence?
1:04–1:42
3
What threats does the Pope associate with AI?
1:42–2:51
4
How does the Pope suggest we should regulate AI?
2:51–3:20
5
What positive aspects of AI does Pope Leo acknowledge?
3:20–3:58
6
How are tech companies reacting to the Pope's message on AI?
3:58–4:04
7
What recent political developments are happening in Italy?
4:04–4:22
Speakers
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