During his visit to Singapore, Pope Francis warned about the impact of AI risks on society and advocated for fair pay for migrant workers.
His remarks came on Thursday as he finished his 12-day tour of the Asia Pacific region. Singapore, known for its advanced technology, was his last stop.
Pope Francis warned that new technology could make people feel lonely and lead them into a false sense of reality. He emphasized that AI should be used to connect people, promote understanding, and build a more united society.
Pope Francis also warned that AI should not make people lose focus on what truly matters—human relationships.
This isn’t the first time the 87-year-old leader of the Catholic Church has spoken about AI. In June, he urged a ban on “lethal autonomous weapons” while addressing world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Italy, as reported by Al Jazeera.
“Protecting the dignity of migrant workers”
During his visit to wealthy Singapore, Pope Francis called for fair wages for foreign workers, stressing the importance of “protecting the dignity of migrant workers.”
In a speech to local leaders and dignitaries, he highlighted how much these workers contribute to society. “These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” he stated.
#BREAKING Pope Francis makes a plea for migrant workers to be paid fairly, during a visit to the affluent city state of Singapore on the last stop of his marathon Asia-Pacific tour pic.twitter.com/g687lfYeXn
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 12, 2024
The use of inexpensive labor has played a key role in the fast development of cities like Singapore.
As of December 2023, government data shows that 1.1 million foreign workers in Singapore earn less than 3,000 Singaporean dollars ($2,300) a month.
This includes 286,300 domestic workers and 441,100 employed in construction, shipyards, and manufacturing. Many of these workers come from countries like Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Advocates argue these workers often face inadequate protection from exploitation and live in poor conditions, claims that the government denies, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Around 170 million migrant workers globally
A Singapore-based non-profit, the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, which supports migrant workers, praised Pope Francis’s comments. They expressed “full agreement” with his call for fair wages.
Globally, there are around 170 million migrant workers, making up about five percent of the world’s workforce, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Singapore marked the final stop on Pope Francis’s busy tour, which also included visits to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor. Moreover, in East Timor, he led a mass for 600,000 people, nearly half of the country’s population.
In Singapore, where about 176,000 of the nearly six million residents are Catholic, a large mass was planned at the National Stadium on Thursday afternoon, with an expected attendance of around 55,000 people, according to the Vatican.
