(FABC OSC News Release)
Pope Francis announced on September 29, the theme for the 58th World Communications Day, to be held in 2024 as Artificial intelligence and wisdom of the heart: for a fully human communication.
The theme is announced every year on the Feast of the Archangels, September 29. The full text of the message will be issued on January 24, the Feast of St Francis de Sales, the Patron of the Catholic Journalists.
Announcing the theme the Pope said, the evolution of artificial intelligence systems makes it ever more natural to communicate through and with machines, so that it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish computation from thought, and the language produced by a machine from that generated by human beings.
Like all revolutions, this one based on artificial intelligence, too, poses new challenges to ensure that machines do not contribute to a large-scale system of disinformation and do not also increase the loneliness of those who are already alone, depriving us of the warmth that only communication between people can provide.
It is important to guide artificial intelligence and algorithms so that there is in each individual a responsible awareness of the use and development of these different forms of communication that go hand in hand with social media and the Internet. It is necessary for communication to be oriented towards a fuller life of the human person.
The World Day of Communications was established by the Second Vatican Council to foster and promote attention on the importance of social communication in the church society. The day is observed every year on the Sunday prior to the Pentecost throughout the dioceses and episcopal conferences with a variety of programs involving liturgical and pastoral programs, study seminars, and discussions centered on the theme.
Fr George Plathottam sdb
Executive Secretary, FABC OSC & Consultant, Dicastery of Communication
