With the blessing of His Holiness, the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, and following a prior invitation by Mr. Aleksandar Avakumović, the founder and president of the Italian association Amici del Futuro (Friends of the Future), the Director of the Missionary Department of AEM, Presbyter Dr. Oliver Subotić, gave a lecture on June 22nd, 2024, titled “Artificial Intelligence and (is) Our Future?” The lecture was organised and sponsored by the Amici del Futuro association as part of their annual event, which has been held for 25 years at the Santa Marta Cultural Centre, situated at the parish house of the Roman Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin in the Vimercate neighbourhood, in the Monza province (Lombardy).
The host of the lecture was Monsignor Maurizio Rola, the head priest at the Roman Catholic church in Vimercate, who warmly welcomed the speaker. A few dozen Italians, mostly by personal invitation, gathered on the premises of the Cultural Centre. The lecture was attended by a few Orthodox Serbs, living and working in the Milan area, who came with their parish priest, Ivica Đulić, who serves at the parish of Saint Simon the Monk in the nearby town of Carate Brianza.
The lecture host was Monsignor Maurizio Rola, the head priest of the Roman Catholic church in Vimercate, who cordially welcomed the speaker. A few dozen Italians. who came mostly by personal invitation, gathered at the Cultural Centre. A few Orthodox Serbs who live and work in the Milan area also attended with their parish priest, Presbyter Ivica Đulić, who serves at the the St. Simon the Monk parish church in the nearby town of Carate Brianza.
After the opening remarks by Monsignor Maurizio Rola, and a welcome speech by Aleksandar Avakumović (who acted as an interpreter for Italian), a few short classical music pieces were performed by young Italian musicians, upon which Presbyter Oliver Subotić took the floor. He outlined the general principles behind artificial intelligence, arousing the audience’s interest with the two questions he posed, and giving them the opportunity to ask their own, since the lecture had a dialogic format. Some of the questions posed by the audience were: Which are the good and bad aspects of artificial intelligence? Is the term “artificial intelligence” appropriate? To what extent does artificial intelligence threaten our future? What will happen to our privacy, and what is the official standing of the Church concerning this issue? The parents in the audience raised their own concerns regarding the use of new technology by children.
In answering each question, the Director of the Missionary Department shared the views he outlined in his book, The Digital Rubicon. He particularly emphasised that most people fear a nightmare scenario, where artificial intelligence will conquer the outside world, but that the main battle concerns our inner world, specifically concerning our attention, emotions and a sense of identity, which are already under threat. In that sense, Father Oliver pointed out that without prayer the battle for our inner world cannot be won. He ended on an optimistic note, with regards to the possibility of using artificial intelligence models for good in the future, but only on condition that we keep this technology under control, as a separate sector. The conclusion came in the form of a story, which clearly demonstrated that we should all contribute what we can in this field, which was met with rapturous applause.
The next day, on the feast of Pentecost, the Director of the Missionary Department had the honour of officiating the Divine Liturgy in Carate Brianza, in the church given to our Church for use. A fruitful conversation on numerous topics followed, with Father Ivica Đulić, the Avakumović couple, and the gathered faithful.
A very dynamic dialogue on missionary topics was had between the Director of the Missionary Department of the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci and Mr. Dragoslav Trifunović, a very active member of the parish of the Church of Saint Simon the Monk in Milan. From him, Father Oliver Subotić learnt about many interesting and important aspects of the Orthodox Church mission in Italy. They also exchanged views concerning the Archbishopric’s mission. Mr. Dragoslav Trifunović, whose parents are parishioners of the St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Belgrade, took it upon himself to personally organise a sightseeing tour of Milan’s landmarks and holy sites with Father Oliver, and to attend to all his needs on the day of Pentecost. So, in addition to our gratitude to the event organisers, the Missionary Department of the Archbishopric of Belgrade and Karlovci wishes to express special thanks to Mr. Dragoslav Trifunović for his generous hospitality on the feast of Pentecost.
