Catholic bishops and priests from across Asia are set to conclude a three-day event in Hong Kong on Friday, during which they drafted guidelines for the clergy¡¯s use of artificial intelligence in the region.

The Federation of Asian Bishops ¡ª a 55-year-old institution that includes representatives from across the region, including Indonesia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Japan ¡ª discussed AI and its impact on humanity, the church, and how it can serve as a tool to conduct scripture searches. They also discussed the principles for use of AI in evangelization.

The theme of the meetings was a call to embrace AI responsibly.

Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, the bishop of Hong Kong, called AI a ¡°gift from God,¡± during the opening Mass, not ¡°from the devil.¡±

¡°I pray that this meeting will help us, liberate us, and inspire us to work with AI to achieve the blessings God intends for us,¡± he said.

There were 30 participants in attendance, including media professionals.

During the event, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the dicastery for communication for the Catholic Church, raised issues of deepfakes and opaque logic used by AI platforms, noting a risk of commercial or ideological interests distorting the experience.

Media literacy serving as a safeguard is important, he said, to protect the human heart from becoming artificial.

Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV addressed AI usage, saying the question posed by the proliferation of the new technology was: ¡°What does it mean to be human in this moment of history?¡±

¡°The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it,¡± he said, expressing a need for guardrails, given the risk of negative implications for young people.

A detailed note published in January by the Vatican said the ¡°Church encourages the advancement of science, technology, the arts, and other forms of human endeavor¡± but warned of its limitations and risks.

¡°The concentration of the power over mainstream AI applications in the hands of a few powerful companies raises significant ethical concerns,¡± the note read.

Globally, churches and religious groups have experimented with AI and developed AI-optimized products.

GitaGPT, for example, is an AI chatbot trained on the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita that is touted as giving users of that denomination the experience of speaking with god. Quran and Bible-based chatbots are also available and continue to be developed.

The Federation of Asian Bishops was founded to coordinate social development and evangelization in the region, according to the group¡¯s website.