The Pope's AI Advisor Warns Against 'Cartel' Behavior Among Big AI Labs
Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar and the Vatican's appointed advisor on artificial intelligence, is raising concerns about the growing concentration of power within the AI industry. In recent remarks, Benanti characterized the behavior of leading AI laboratories as potentially resembling "cartel" dynamics, where a small number of dominant players could exercise outsized influence over the development and deployment of AI systems.
Benanti argues that public discourse is too heavily focused on speculative existential threats from hypothetical godlike AI, rather than addressing more immediate governance challenges. These include questions of accountability, transparency, and equitable access to AI technologies that are already transforming society.
The intervention comes as debates about AI safety continue to dominate headlines, with some researchers warning of catastrophic risks while others push for more balanced approaches that address current harms alongside future threats. Benanti's perspective emphasizes the need for broader public participation in decisions about how AI should be developed and regulated, rather than leaving such choices to a concentrated group of technology companies.