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Pope Leo Urges Politicians to Address Challenges of Artificial Intelligence

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Pope Leo cautioned politicians on Saturday about the growing challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), particularly emphasizing its impact on younger generations. Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, the pope highlighted that AI should serve as a tool to benefit humanity rather than diminish or replace people.

This topic has been a recurring concern for Pope Leo since the early weeks of his papacy. Speaking during the Roman Catholic Jubilee or Holy Year event, he underscored that AI proponents argue the technology can accelerate scientific progress and help free people from routine tasks, enabling more creative and valuable work.

Italian Prime Minister Meloni pledged to uphold the pope’s message, committing Italy to efforts domestically and internationally to ensure AI development remains human-centered, prioritizing human wellbeing. She also referenced the pope’s criticism of the growing divide between the rich and poor in society.

The U.S.-born pope stressed the need to protect healthy, fair lifestyles, especially for the youth, contrasting AI’s “static memory” with the “creative, dynamic” power of human memory. He emphasized that personal life holds greater value than any algorithm, and that social relationships require development spaces beyond the limited frameworks of machine programming.

Since becoming pope in May, Leo has spoken about AI’s threat to employment and urged responsible use of the technology by journalists and society at large.

Apple Explores Potential Acquisition of AI Startup Perplexity, Bloomberg Reports

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Apple (AAPL.O) executives have held early internal discussions about possibly bidding for artificial intelligence startup Perplexity, according to a Bloomberg News report on Friday citing sources familiar with the matter. However, the talks are in preliminary stages and may not result in an offer, with no direct communication reported between Apple and Perplexity management.

Perplexity stated it has no knowledge of any current or future merger and acquisition discussions involving the company. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This potential move aligns with a broader trend of major tech companies ramping up investments in AI technologies to strengthen their competitive edge amid growing demand for AI-powered services. Bloomberg also reported that Meta Platforms (META.O) had attempted to acquire Perplexity earlier this year. Meta recently announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead a new superintelligence division.

Apple’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has reportedly discussed the possibility with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI leaders. The company aims to integrate AI-driven search functionalities, like those from Perplexity AI, into its Safari browser, which could reduce its reliance on Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google — a longtime default search partner.

This shift comes amid ongoing U.S. Department of Justice efforts to limit Google’s dominance in online search, including proposals to ban payments that secure default search engine status. While traditional search engines like Google remain dominant globally, AI-powered search tools such as Perplexity and ChatGPT are gaining traction, particularly among younger users.

Perplexity recently completed a funding round valuing the startup at $14 billion, making any acquisition deal at that scale potentially Apple’s largest to date. The Nvidia-backed company offers AI search services that provide users with summarized information, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

European Investment Bank to Allocate €70 Billion for Tech Sector from 2025 to 2027

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to announce plans to invest €70 billion into European technology firms over the next three years, EU officials confirmed. The initiative, called Tech EU, aims to strengthen Europe’s competitive edge against China and the United States in innovative clean and digital technologies.

The EIB, recognized as the world’s largest multilateral lender with a total balance sheet of €556 billion, expects its €70 billion commitment to mobilize an additional €250 billion from private investors attracted by EIB-supported projects.

The allocation breakdown for 2025-2027 includes:

  • €20 billion for equity and quasi-equity investments

  • €40 billion for loans

  • €10 billion for guarantees

This initiative is designed to complement European Commission efforts by supporting high-risk ventures and innovative companies through their entire investment lifecycle—from proof of concept to initial public offering.

Key focus areas for funding include supercomputing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, critical raw materials, green industries such as offshore wind, healthcare, security and defense technologies, robotics, and advanced materials.