A selection of articles, op-eds, TV segments, and other media featuring Ethics Center staff and programs.
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In his Encyclical released this week, Pope Leo calls for more regulation and safeguards to protect humanity from the negative impacts of artificial intelligence.
Brian Green, Ethics Center director of technology ethics, says the encyclical aims at asking, "What is AI doing to us as human beings? Are we using AI for the right purposes?"
Green says the Pope has given a lot of people hope for something maybe perhaps happening when it comes to AI.
"There are ethical values that are more important than money."
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, interviewed by KQED.
Pope Leo XIV in his first encyclical, took aim at big tech. The Pope warns that artificial intelligence poses impact to inequality, democracy, and what it means to be human.
"This is a landmark opportunity for the world to look at a new technology and really think about what it is for," said Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics at Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by NPR.
The New York Times reports the Pope's document marks a powerful statement regarding the debate about the misuse or overuse of artificial intelligence.
Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics said some technology leaders “will have to take it seriously in a sense,” partly because it provides them with “a moral imperative” even as it recognized their autonomy.
The church, he said, “does not claim to supplant the responsibilities of politics or institutions, but offers itself as a foundation,” urging other institutions to “recognize and promote whatever serves the dignity of persons, the vitality of communities and the common good.”
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by The New York Times.
Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical on AI, set to be released May 25, will be released with Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic at his side.
According to Brian Green, director, technology ethics, in previous meetings between religious representatives and Anthropic, the Anthropic staff Green said, “became curious as to whether wisdom traditions such as Catholic ethics, Christian ethics or religious ethics more broadly might have some insights that could help them to think about how to develop their AI model Claude into acting better and maintaining its reliably ethical way of behavior.”
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by Religion News Service.
Christopher Olah, Co-founder of leading AI lab Anthropic joined the presentation of Pope Leo XIV's encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"). The visit represents the latest in outreach to religious leaders for Olah.
"Of all the people in the world who work on AI that they could have chosen from industry, he's probably the right person," said Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics.
"It shows that the church is willing to talk to people across great divides of understandings of how AI should work in the world, ultimately bringing people together so they can talk about these sorts of things."
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by National Catholic Reporter.
Anthropic said its “first round of discussions has been with wisdom traditions — including scholars, clergy, philosophers, and ethicists from more than 15 religious and cross-cultural groups — and we look forward to engaging with a broader range of people going forward.”
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, joined several Catholic scholars in filing a friend of the court brief on Anthropic’s behalf, after the Trump administration ordered all U.S. agencies in February to stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology, arguing it presented a supply chain risk to national security.
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, referenced by OSV News.
Did elected prosecutors’ campaign messaging compromise the appearance of justice?
Davina Hurt, director of government ethics, said the public might be understandably confused about why a district attorney would be violating any boundaries by promoting his office’s prosecution of a case, since their charging decisions signal their belief in guilt.
But while prosecutors pursue charges and convictions, she said, they are still obligated to pursue cases objectively, which includes pulling back charging severity, negotiating plea deals for lesser charges, or reaching nonconviction resolutions when the facts and circumstances justify it.
Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by The Mercury News.
Authors Iris Stewart-Frey and Irina Raicu argue that generative AI and hyperscale data centers “consume and pollute substantial amounts of water at nearly every stage of their supply chain.”
Raicu said developers and policymakers should provide more information so communities can understand what is coming to their neighborhoods.
“We do need data centers,” Raicu said. “They’re really an important part of our lives. Our report is not here to say, ‘Don’t build data centers.’ The report is to highlight California’s fragile water system and how it plays out in particular locations.”
Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by The Desert Review.
