The best practices presented at the digital event “Artificial intelligence, food for all. Dialogue and experiences", organized in Rome between the Pontifical Academy for Life, FAO and IBM.

The digital event “Artificial intelligence, food for all. Dialogue and experiences", organized between the Pontifical Academy for Life, FAO and IBM. The purpose of the meeting was to resume and relaunch the" Rome Call for AI Ethics "promoted by Pope Francis and signed by IBM, FAO and Microsoft during the conference held last February at the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The discussion focused on the concrete ways in which artificial intelligence can, in an ethical way, contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of the global population by guaranteeing the protection of natural resources and taking into account both climate change and the impact of other events. global in scope such as the pandemic caused by Covid-19.

During the event, two best practices of AI applied to agriculture in an ethical manner were also shown: The WaPor portal of FAO which monitors and provides information on the productivity of water in agriculture in Africa and the Near East, and the Agricultural Stress Index System (Asis), a rapid indicator developed by FAO for the predictive monitoring of agricultural areas with a high probability of water stress / drought at global, regional and national level, which uses satellite technology.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia , president of the Pontifical Academy for Life declared: "The protection of biological diversity (human, plant, animal) must be at the center of our attention and must guide the entire process, from the planning phases (ethical by design) to the way in which these are proposed and disseminated in different social and cultural contexts".

Rome Call partners urged countries and the public sector to take advantage of the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence to support small farmers and foster rural development, poverty eradication and improved food security. To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to invest in human capital and to implement policies and regulatory provisions that minimize the risk of exclusion and inequality.