- jthavis
- 21 hours ago
Pope Leo recently turned his attention to an artificial intelligence issue that often flies under the public opinion radar: the global AI divide.
While most Americans are focused on AI’s impact on job security, data privacy and physical infrastructure (data centers), the pope reminded people that the rapid development of AI “risks creating new forms of technological dependence, with poorer nations increasingly reliant on wealthier ones.”
“We must remain vigilant in this regard, lest innovation become another vehicle for ideological or economic colonialism,” he told a group of Catholic legislators Aug. 21.
It was a theme the pope explored in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas earlier this year. He warned of new forms of data colonialism – including resource and data extraction from poorer areas of the world by countries and businesses that have raced ahead in developing AI.
More generally, he has said, poorer populations are marginalized when critical infrastructure (like banking and employment) moves to digital-only platforms that they cannot access.
The pope’s concerns are supported by recent studies. A recent World Bank report said high-income nations today hold about 77 percent of global data center capacity, while low-income countries hold less than 0.1 percent. Another U.N. report said AI tools are being used by roughly 70 percent of people in high-income countries, compared to only 5 percent in poor countries.
On the other hand, some experts have argued that AI could be a lifeline for the global South. Adapting small AI tools to local conditions, they say, can bring improved medical care, education and business practices to millions of people.
But that would require these countries to make significant expenditures to become “AI ready” – by strengthening power grids, establishing networks of reliable internet connectivity, improving digital skills among the population and providing useful local data.
In short, many poor countries lack the resources needed to get on board the AI revolution, let alone fully participate. This increases the risk that they will become passive consumers of foreign technologies instead of active creators.