Paris: UNESCO chief Khaled el-Enany has proposed in an interview with AFP that the UN cultural agency become a facilitator in the worldwide conversation on the risks of artificial intelligence.

“I believe we are uniquely positioned to make UNESCO a true moderator in this global debate,” he said as he prepared to welcome Pope Leo XIV, a key advocate for international AI governance, in Paris next week.

The debate over the potential dangers of artificial intelligence has surged in recent weeks, with researchers warning the technology could end humanity, and leaders of AI companies suggesting development needed to be slowed.

“There is a risk that it will get out of control if we don’t intervene,” Enany told AFP in an interview late Thursday.

AI is “an extraordinary tool, but one that must be governed in an ethical, inclusive, and fair way,” he said.

“This break, this dialogue that has taken place over the past few weeks, is something very positive,” he added.

He said the cultural agency had found an “indispensable partner” in the head of the Catholic Church.

“This visit will be the beginning of a very solid partnership to strengthen and protect human dignity in this industrial revolution,” the UNESCO director general said.

Pope Leo this week warned against delegating to algorithms decisions that should be taken by humans alone.

In his first major document, the encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), published in May, the pope issued a powerful call to “disarm” AI in order to “prevent it from dominating humanity”.

Leo, the first US pope, will visit UNESCO headquarters next Friday at the start of a four-day trip to France.