Your editorial on Pope Leo XIV’s call to centre human dignity in AI debate makes an important argument (The Guardian view on the Pope and Claude: Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI is right to put humanity first, 25 May). While governments, faith leaders and tech bosses debate the future of AI, one group is consistently left out of the conversation: the public, the very people whose lives the technology is shaping.
Last week, I gave evidence on AI sovereignty to the all-party parliamentary group on AI that aligns with Pope Leo’s position. I argued that AI sovereignty was a series of deeply human and societal questions that exceed technical, material and macroeconomic concerns. I showed that public concern about AI has risen by 10% in two years, and that 91% believe fairness should be prioritised over economic gain. Yet there is no national programme to help the public understand, trust or have a say in AI.
The government has invested in sovereign AI, workforce skills and AI in schools, but nothing in public engagement. Let’s Talk AI, our campaign at the University of Sheffield, is the first project of its kind in the UK. Over six months, our team asked communities across the country what they want to know about AI and built the campaign around their answers, rather than around what the tech industry thinks the public should be told. The result is a public conversation appearing in everyday places like bus stops and community centres in Sheffield, Plymouth and Morecambe. It is AI awareness designed by and with the people it is meant to reach.
If we want AI built with human dignity at its centre, as the pope argues, we have to start by including those whose lives it will shape. The infrastructure being built without us cannot serve us.
Dr Susan Oman
Senior lecturer in data, AI and society, University of Sheffield
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