Pope Leo and ECB Warn of AI Threats to Financial Systems

• Pope Leo has warned about threats posed by AI systems that are beyond human reach.
• The ECB has summoned banks to a meeting over the threat posed by AI systems.
• Mythos exposed cybersecurity weaknesses in browsers and operating systems.

The propagation of artificial intelligence (AI) across various sectors of cyberspace is becoming an issue of particular concern, especially when it is associated with risks. On Monday, Pope Leo, the current head of the catholic church and sovereign of Vatican City, raised concerns over the ongoing trend.

In his comments, the Pope warned that some autonomous systems are “practically beyond any human reach” to control. He noted that the Catholic Church intends to work with AI developers to discuss how best to use the technology, citing that humans should maintain key control of AI systems.

The timing of the Pope’s warning about the risks surrounding autonomous systems aligned with the European Central Bank’s (ECB) summons to banks under its jurisdiction, calling for a meeting to discuss how to strengthen cyber security systems. According to reports, the meeting became necessary following the weaknesses in banking infrastructure that new AI models have exposed.

Although the meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, the ECB is urging quicker action in improving the IT security of lending organizations. According to reports, Frank Elderson, vice-chair of the ECB supervisory board that oversees banks, described the current situation as a “game-changing” development. Elderson noted that the ECB wants banks to look into the situation seriously, stating that “the clock is ticking.”

It is worth noting that the Mythos AI model launched in April and is reported to have high-level capabilities in finding and exploiting cybersecurity weaknesses in browsers and operating systems. Mythos’ emergence sparked wide-ranging concern about the threat it poses, alongside other similar models.

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AI Security is a Priority

While the ECB already has its hands full with other classes of cybersecurity issues, Elderson stated that the development around AI models, particularly their rate of progress, needs to be dealt with faster.

In the meantime, some major banks in the US, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley, have been allowed controlled preview access to Mythos. No European bank had been given access to Mythos as of the time of writing. However, the ECB hopes for collaboration between the US and European lenders on the issue at hand. The ECB also thinks banks within its jurisdiction need to prepare for the threats Mythos and other similar solutions could pose.

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