The multinational technology company's president Brad Smith met the Pope in private on Wednesday.
According to a statement, the pair discussed "artificial intelligence at the service of the common good and activities aimed at bridging the digital divide that still persists at the global level".
Pope Francis and Smith also met with Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia of the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Vatican scientific office that promotes Catholic Church positions on human life.
Speaking at the pontiff's residence, Smith and Archbishop Vincenzo highlighted the international prize that the Academy for Life is jointly sponsoring with Microsoft for the best doctoral dissertation in 2019 on the theme of "artificial intelligence at the service of human life".
The winner will receive 6,000 euros and an invitation to Microsoft's Seattle headquarters.
When the global #digital giant (@Microsoft CEO Brad Smith) meets with the main religion confession (@Pontifex and Pope Francis) to discuss ethical rules on #ArtificialIntelligence is because the world is confronted with a possible misuse of tech. Read it https://t.co/4TANy0GTFu pic.twitter.com/tjRb4qBmhi
— Luis Viegas Cardoso (@lviegascardoso) February 15, 2019
Pope, self-proclaimed "disaster when it comes to technology," discusses ethics of artificial intelligence with Microsoft chief Brad Smith. https://t.co/gJbV15egFA pic.twitter.com/MLn3XIF04Y
— Philip Pullella (@PhilipPullella) February 13, 2019
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