Pope Francis attends G7 summit in historic first, warns of dangers of AI

euronews (in English)

The pontiff brought his moral authority to bear on the Group of Seven, invited by host Italy to address a special session on the perils and promises of AI.

Transcript

00:00It's a historic first and never before has any pontiff taken the floor in the history

00:06of the G7 summit. Pope Francis was the star guest on Friday. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia

00:11Meloni is the first to have managed to have him as one of the main attendees. Not one

00:16but ten bilaterals were on the agenda for the 87-year-old pontiff, including a meeting

00:21with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The Pope's speech centred on the use of AI. Despite bringing

00:26positive change, the pontiff said that technology can be harmful.

00:56Alongside the Pope, the presence of guest leaders this time hit record levels. Representatives

01:10of the Global South, such as India, Brazil and Tunisia to mention a few, strengthened

01:14the summit's inclusive approach and called to action when tackling issues such as the

01:19climate crisis and migration. Discussions about Africa were at the top of the agenda

01:23on both days. Meloni pushed for broader consensus on Italy's Mate Plan for Africa, which has

01:29been welcomed in the G7 final declaration, giving Italy a key role in the relations between

01:34the EU and the continent.

01:50During Friday's bilateral between Meloni and US President Joe Biden, the two touched

01:55on the summit's efforts to stand by Ukraine, which resulted in a deal on the use of profits

02:00from frozen Russian assets and a security agreement signed by both Biden and Zelensky.

02:05Meloni also backed Biden's proposed ceasefire deal to end hostilities in Gaza.

02:10The G7 final declaration adopted on Friday also includes a statement about the climate

02:15crisis and China, with a group of seven leaders said to be concerned about the country's

02:20unfair business practices. And among other agreements that have been reached at the summit,

02:26leaders will launch a coalition designed to counter migrant smuggling. But more details

02:33about the summit and the final declaration will emerge during Meloni's final presser

02:39scheduled for Saturday.

02:41Giorgia Orlandi for Euronews in Bari.

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