Cardinal Parolin assesses promise, pitfalls of AI in health care
October 16, 2025
» Continue to this story on Vatican News (Spanish)
CWN Editor's Note: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, delivered a lecture yesterday on the promise and perils of AI in health care.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Center for the Study and Development of Artificial Intelligence at the Italian National Institute of Health, Cardinal Parolin spoke of AI as potentially a “powerful tool at the service of life, an ally of humanity in the fight against disease and suffering.”
Cardinal Parolin, however, warned of the potential “dehumanization of care” and said that “an algorithm can provide a diagnosis, but it cannot offer a word of comfort.” He expressed concern that AI could transform a doctor “from a wise clinician into a mere supervisor of an automated process.” He also warned of a lack of accountability for algorithmic errors, which “risks generating ‘systemic irresponsibility’ in which, ultimately, no one is truly responsible.”
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