A summit held Friday and Saturday on “human fraternity” convened Nobel laureates and other experts to discuss topics ranging from agriculture to the economy to sport, culminating in a historic concert in St. Peter’s Square, directed by American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams and celebrated Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Among those participating in the AI discussions was Will.i.am, frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, who has been involved with AI since 2012 after attending classes taught by the late Patrick Winston, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The rapper and singer, who leads a technology company called FYI.AI and supports computer science education in Los Angeles, believes the Church and Pope Leo XIV have a role in developing AI that serves humanity.

He told CNN that the Vatican event provided a “safe haven” for brainstorming on AI. It “demands that people center themselves around what’s good for humanity,” he said, and that “they build systems that are for community and the improvement of society. That’s the thesis of why they come to the Vatican.”

He added: “I think governments need to get up to speed and put some regulations and governance in place, not to stifle growth but just to ensure that society is safe.”

For several years, the Vatican has advocated for more ethical AI through meetings with tech company leaders, and in 2023 Pope Francis called for a “binding international treaty” to prevent harmful practices and promote beneficial ones. The latest discussions, held in Rome’s Palazzo Altieri, explored similar themes, with speakers including Geoffrey Hinton, known as “the Godfather of AI”; physicist and author Max Tegmark of MIT; Jimena Sofía Viveros Álvarez, a scholar and leading voice for ethical AI; and Marco Trombetti, founder and CEO of Translated, a company that uses AI for translation services. (CNN)