The Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Most Rev John Oyejola has described Artificial Intelligence as emerging field that has transformative impacts in human relationships, but warned that its application has risks of replacing humans.
Bishop Oyejola called for caution in the application of AI, saying, “Already with the radical use of social media, there has been enormous limitations to human interactions even within immediate family.”
Speaking at a Holy Mass and media parley held at St Benedict Cathedral, Osogbo, as part of activities marking the grand finale of the 2024 World Communications Week on Sunday, Bishop Oyejola said there was no doubt that AI helps in bringing coherence, efficiency and fast decision making in human communication, but insisted that people must be careful because AI might be used to push incomplete information and false narratives in the public space.
The theme of this year’s World Communications Week is “Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards fully human communication.”
The religious leader said, “In the world today, AI is being applied in daily human communication and communication itself is believed to be very essential to the coexistence of humans. It is the very foundation of every human relationship. As humans, we are created to communicate. It is the basis of all human interactions. It is how we pass information to other people, and in turn, receive and interpret what is being said back to us which is generally formed by the environment and culture.
“No doubt that application of AI in communications has transformative impacts.
It helps in bringing coherence, efficiency and fast decision making in human communication. It might be used to push incomplete information and false narratives and also, to carry out unethical purposes.
“Also, great care must be taken as AI has the potential risk of replacing humans in our life as seen in interpersonal communications among human. Already with the radical use of social media, there has been enormous limitations to human interactions even within immediate family. Each member of the family preferring to relate with someone 100 kilometres away via social media than to relate or communicate with the one sitting close to him. So also does AI possess the same risk to human in its radical application.”
Oyejola stressed that, “AI must remain a tool for communication and not a substitute for human person.”
Addressing social communicators and media practitioners at an event after the church service, the guest speaker of the annual ceremony organised by the Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Abiodun Lufadeju, said, “Artificial intelligence will help on the soft side of the agenda such as researches, new concept development, simulations of concepts and possibilities.”
“But the truth is that as grouchy as artificial intelligence appears, the human quest for a change or development, or vision is the primary endeavour without which the artificial intelligence cannot make any change on its own,” he noted.
