The Vatican has long warned about the risks of artificial intelligence. A 2016 document issued by a committee of experts approved by Pope Francis stated that AI could lead to a new form of slavery by manipulating public opinion and controlling behavior. More recently, Pope Leo, the first US-born pope, echoed those concerns, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin saying the future of humanity is at stake. The Vatican hosted two AI risk conferences in 2019, and the US bishops' conference created an AI taskforce in September 2026.
D.C. Collier adds a moral dimension to the debate, arguing that treating AI as the ultimate source of truth conflicts with deeper standards of right and wrong. He says AI only processes data from human-made sources that often contain errors and biases. Collier compares relying on AI to a fish raised in a polluted river that cannot understand clean water, warning that society is redefining concepts like truth and evil in ways that leave people vulnerable to flawed technology.
On the practical side, engineers argue that safety measures should be built alongside AI rather than halting development. The internet serves as a model, they say, because engineers created guardrails in parallel with its growth. The call is for naming specific failure modes and risks instead of making broad claims about AI safety or danger.
Meanwhile, AI is delivering tangible results in medicine. The Barcelona Supercomputing Center developed technology that lets researchers create digital models of tumors in minutes, a process that used to take months or years. Researchers simply describe the biological problem in a conversation with an AI agent, and the MCP servers from the study are openly available to the scientific community.
Taiwan is also investing in its own AI capabilities by building a training database with about 5,000 datasets and over 2.2 billion text tokens. The TAIDE model scored 58% on a test compared with 54% for the original Gemma model. The project aims to reduce dependence on foreign technology companies, and the corpus can also support RAG technology that searches verified document databases.
AI is reshaping the workforce in positive ways according to Paul Steidler. A Senate hearing in July 2026 found that AI reshapes many jobs instead of replacing them. Studies show half of small business workers already use AI to do more work, and construction workers building data centers are among those benefiting from new opportunities. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council both report strong gains.
But not all developments are positive. AI coding assistants are creating dependency sprawl that increases malware risk. Chainguard CISO Quincy Castro says speed has outpaced governance and manual review processes. Attackers target less-maintained open-source projects to smuggle malware into development pipelines, and one March attack forced 75 version tags of the Tricy scanner to carry an infostealer.
The rapid construction of AI datacenters is also straining water and energy resources in communities across the U.S. Residents face higher utility bills, noise, pollution, and falling property values. The author argues AI infrastructure must be governed as part of the public trust, with transparency about water, energy, land, and emissions.
On a brighter note, AI is helping detect wildfires, improve healthcare diagnostics, and personalize education. By analyzing satellite imagery, weather data, and sensors, AI aids in wildfire prevention. In healthcare, AI helps doctors diagnose diseases from X-rays and MRIs more accurately. Brad Smith highlights these applications as important responses to climate change and community needs.
Language itself is adapting to the age of AI. Merriam-Webster added words on September 15 including vibe coding, compute as a noun, AGI, uncanny valley, parasocial, and meme coin. The dictionary publisher says words are added when people use them consistently and widely over time, reflecting how technology shapes everyday communication.
Key Takeaways
- The Vatican warned in a 2016 document that AI could lead to a new form of slavery by manipulating public opinion and controlling behavior.
- Pope Leo, the first US-born pope, called for international regulation of AI, with the US bishops' conference creating an AI taskforce in September 2026.
- The Barcelona Supercomputing Center now lets researchers create tumor digital models in minutes using AI, with MCP servers openly available to the scientific community.
- Taiwan built an AI training database with 5,000 datasets and over 2.2 billion text tokens, and its TAIDE model scored 58% versus 54% for the original Gemma model.
- A Senate hearing in July 2026 found that AI reshapes jobs rather than replacing them, with half of small business workers using AI to do more work.
- AI coding assistants are causing dependency sprawl that increases malware risk, and one March attack forced 75 version tags of the Trivy scanner to carry an infostealer.
- AI datacenters in the U.S. are straining water and energy resources, with communities facing higher utility bills and falling property values.
- Engineers argue that safety guardrails should be built alongside AI development, citing the internet as a model for parallel safety measures.
- Merriam-Webster added AI-related terms including vibe coding, AGI, uncanny valley, and meme coin to its dictionary on September 15.
- AI is being used to detect wildfires, improve medical diagnoses from X-rays and MRIs, and personalize education through adaptive learning systems.
Vatican warns AI could cause a new form of slavery
The Vatican warned in a 2016 document that artificial intelligence could lead to a new form of slavery. It said AI could manipulate public opinion and control people's behavior. The warning came from a committee of experts approved by Pope Francis. The Vatican held a conference on AI risks in 2014 and has continued to speak out on the issue.
Pope Leo calls for global rules on artificial intelligence
Pope Leo, the first US-born pope, has raised concerns about the dangers of AI development. Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the future of humanity is at stake and called for international regulation. The Vatican hosted two AI risk conferences in 2019. Pope Leo warned about autonomous weapons and AI-powered drones. The US bishops' conference created an AI taskforce in September 2026.
AI now creates tumor digital twins in minutes
Building a digital model of a tumor used to take months or years of specialized work. The Barcelona Supercomputing Center developed AI technology that lets researchers create these models in minutes. Researchers describe the biological problem in a simple conversation with an AI agent. The MCP servers from this study are openly available to the scientific community. This advance could speed up treatment development for cancer and other diseases.
Engineers say AI needs guardrails built alongside it
An opinion piece argues that AI development should not be paused or rushed. The author says engineers should build safety measures and monitoring systems at the same time as the technology. The internet was built safely because engineers created guardrails in parallel. The article calls for naming specific failure modes and risks instead of making broad claims about AI safety or danger.
Taiwan builds its own AI training database
Taiwan is creating a database to train AI systems so they better understand the country's language and culture. The database has about 5,000 datasets and over 2.2 billion text tokens. Taiwan's TAIDE model scored 58% on a test compared with 54% for the original Gemma model. The project aims to reduce dependence on foreign technology companies. The corpus can also be used for RAG technology that searches verified document databases.
AI is helping workers thrive rather than causing mass unemployment
Paul Steidler argues that AI is changing jobs for the better rather than eliminating them. A Senate hearing in July 2026 found that AI reshapes many jobs instead of replacing them. Studies show half of small business workers already use AI to do more work, not to replace themselves. Construction workers building data centers are among those benefiting from new opportunities. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council both report strong gains from AI use.
AI coding tools are increasing malware risk through dependency sprawl
AI coding assistants are adding open-source packages and libraries to codebases faster than security teams can review them. This creates dependency sprawl that widens the chance of software supply chain attacks. Chainguard CISO Quincy Castro says speed has outpaced governance and manual review processes. Attackers often target less-maintained open-source projects to smuggle malware into development pipelines. One March attack forced 75 version tags of the Trivy scanner to carry an infostealer.
AI datacenters are straining water and energy resources in communities
The rapid construction of AI datacenters is driving up energy demand and draining water supplies across the U.S. Communities face higher utility bills, noise, pollution, and falling property values with little say in the matter. The article argues AI infrastructure must be governed as part of the public trust. It calls for transparency about water, energy, land, and emissions. The author says private firms should not control essential shared resources alone.
Merriam-Webster adds AI and tech terms to its dictionary
Merriam-Webster added several new words on September 15 that reflect AI and digital culture. New entries include vibe coding, compute as a noun, AGI, uncanny valley, parasocial, and meme coin. The dictionary publisher says words are added when people use them consistently and widely over time. Northeastern University linguistics professor Littlefield explains that old linguistic methods like compounding create these new terms. The additions show how technology changes everyday language.
AI helps detect wildfires and improve healthcare and education
AI is being used to detect and help prevent wildfires by analyzing satellite imagery, weather data, and sensors. In healthcare, AI helps doctors diagnose diseases from medical images like X-rays and MRIs more accurately. AI also creates personalized treatment plans based on patient history and lifestyle. In education, AI-powered adaptive learning systems adjust content difficulty in real time. Brad Smith highlights these applications as important responses to climate change and community needs.
D.C. Collier warns of AI dangers and flawed truth
D.C. Collier argues that artificial intelligence is being treated as the ultimate source of truth, which he believes conflicts with God's purposes. He explains that AI only processes data from human-made sources like web pages and books, which often contain errors and biases. Collier compares this to a fish raised in a polluted river that cannot understand clean water, suggesting people lack a moral standard to judge AI. He lists five ways modern society has redefined concepts like God, truth, and evil, leading to a worldview where truth is relative. The author warns that relying on AI as an unchallengeable repository of facts is dangerous because the technology is flawed and constantly evolving.
Sources
- For Pope Leo, the risk of an AI apocalypse is a major concern
- For Pope Leo, the risk of an AI apocalypse is a major concern
- Tumor digital twins took months to build—AI now drafts them in minutes
- We didn't get internet by waiting for everyone to get onboard
- Taiwan expands its own AI training database
- Steidler: How AI can actually be good for workers
- AI coding tools are accelerating dependency sprawl and expanding malware risk with it
- Who Owns the Wai (Water)? AI, Power, and the Public Trust
- AI and digital culture make their way into Merriam-Webster
- AI’s role in wildfire detection, healthcare, and education | Brad Smith
- D.C. Collier: The Clear and Present Dangers of Artificial Intelligence
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