Father Paolo Benanti is the new president of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Commission on Information.
Cabinet Undersecretary for Media and Publishing Alberto Barachini announced on Friday that Father Paolo Benanti will be the new president of Italy’s AI Commission on Information.
He replaces former premier and Constitutional Court president Giuliano Amato, who announced his resignation from the so-called ‘Algorithms Commission’ earlier in the day.
A professor in moral theology, bioethics and digital ethics at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Father Benanti is the only Italian member of the United Nations High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.
The UN body brings together 38 experts in relevant disciplines from around the world on the risks and challenges, opportunities and enablers for international governance of AI.
“In these months of work, I have got to know his competence and balance,” said Barachini. “That is why I am honoured that he accepted the appointment.
“We will return to work after the Christmas holidays with confidence and the desire to soon arrive at an initial report for presentation to Premier Meloni and to our colleague (Cabinet Undersecretary for Innovation) Butti,” he added.
The government of Premier Giorgia Meloni set up the Algorithms Commission to look into the effects of AI on the publishing and information sector. The government welcomed the EU’s provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act in December 2023.
