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    Cisco Systems joins Microsoft, IBM in Vatican pledge to ensure ethical use and development of AI

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments817 Views
    Pope Francis holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
    ROME (AP) --

    Tech giant Cisco Systems on Wednesday joined Microsoft and IBM in signing onto a Vatican-sponsored pledge to ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically and to benefit the common good.

    Cisco Systems chief executive Chuck Robbins signed the document, known as the Rome Call, and met privately with Pope Francis, the Vatican said.

    The pledge outlines key pillars of ethical and responsible use of AI. It emphasizes that AI systems must be designed, used and regulated to serve and protect the dignity of all human beings, without discrimination, and their environments. It highlights principles of transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality and security as necessary to guide all AI developments.

    The document was unveiled and signed at a Vatican conference on Feb. 28, 2020 — just before Italy locked down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — by Microsoft's Brad Smith and IBM's John Kelly III. Universities, U.N. agencies, private corporations and nongovernmental organizations have signed on as well.

    Francis has called for an international treaty to ensure AI is developed and used ethically, devoting his annual peace message this year to the topic.

    Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life who is leading the AI initiative, welcomed Cisco's participation. He cited the IT company's expertise in "infrastructure, security and protection of AI data and systems."

    Artificial intelligence has captured world attention thanks to advances by cutting-edge systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT that have dazzled users with the ability to produce human-like text, photos and songs. But the technology has also raised fears about the risks the rapidly developing technology poses to jobs, privacy and copyright protection and even human life itself.

    Tags:artificial intelligenceCisco SystemsPope FrancisRome CallVatican



    Olivia Hussey, star of 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” dies at 73

    Saturday, December 28, 2024
    "Romeo and Juliet" movie director Franco Zeffirelli, left, actors Olivia Hussey, center, and Leonard Whiting are seen after the Parisian premiere of the film in Paris on Sept. 25, 1968. (AP Photo/Eustache Cardenas, File)

    Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film "Romeo and Juliet," has died, her family said on social media Saturday. She was 73.

    Hussey died on Friday, "peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones," a statement posted to her Instagram account said.

    Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy after spotting her onstage in the play "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," which also starred Vanessa Redgrave.

    "Romeo and Juliet" won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 at the time.

    Decades later Hussey and Whiting brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes in the film.

    They alleged that they were initially told they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in a bedroom scene, but on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli told the pair they would wear only body makeup and that the camera would be positioned in a way that would not show nudity. They alleged they were filmed in the nude without their knowledge.

    The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023, who found their depiction could not be considered child pornography and the pair filed their claim too late.

    Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a child.

    She also starred as Mary, mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television series "Jesus of Nazareth," and in the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile."

    She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, her three children and a grandson.

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