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Artificial Intelligence has become the hottest topic in recent global conversations and is well and truly on the Foundation’s agenda, with our continuing engagement and advocacy.

On one hand, AI promises to boost productivity and open doors to a brighter future. Massive investments are underway across the globe for the infrastructure and services required to underpin the growth of AI. Proper planning for the effective and balanced development of data centres which underpin AI is now a central focus of governments, business and communities worldwide.

See Energy Transition, below for more details.

On the other hand, AI has the potential to dominate humanity. This is existential. Pope Leo was among the first to call for concerted global action to govern the downsides of AI. Soon after, Foundation member, Sister Adele Howard rsm OAM, endorsed this call in the Vatican journal, L’Osservatore Romano.

Recently, many other global leaders have also called for greater care about AI, including Bill Gates, central bankers and now even AI industry leaders themselves.

This week, at the United Nations in New York, an alliance of 22 middle power States has called for the formation of a global AI governance entity, under the United Nations.

Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has been at the forefront, while at the same time indicating that Australia can be a significant player with the development of AI for economic benefit.

Over many months, the Foundation has engaged with and encouraged advisors to Pope Leo at the Vatican and the office of the Australian Prime Minister and, as a consequence, AI and its global governance will be high on the agenda our next Rome Roundtable.

See Rome Roundtable below for more details.

At a time when the planet is heating and some official ambitions to lower global greenhouse gas emissions have softened, there has been a huge step-up in practical and planned action to address climate change and accelerate the energy transition.

Responsible business within our alliance is playing the key role that we have encouraged.

The announcement coincides with the recent news that Alinta Energy has recently been acquired by Singaporean energy utility, Sembcorp Industries, whose CEO, Kim Yin Wong, has an already deep understanding of the Australian energy landscape and has also engaged with the Foundation.

Under Jeff’s leadership, our energy transition group, with its expanding mandate, will meet in Australia, in the first instance, with planning for subsequent discussions in Singapore and elsewhere in the region. It is hoped that the Governments of both Australia and Singapore will endorse this strategic initiative in due course.

Central to the Foundation’s ongoing work is the role of the enlightened private sector in ensuring the care for nature, by working in partnership with civil society organisations, including those also affiliated with the Foundation, such as the Nature Positive Initiative.

The leadership of Brazilian miner, Vale, a Key Partner of the Foundation in preserving the Amazon forest remains an outstanding example of this.

Designed to generate a huge, global investment fund that would ensure some of the investment proceeds would flow back to support the preservation of tropical rainforests at local level, worldwide, the fund is closing in on its sovereign capital raising target of US$10 billion, having generated US$7.3 billion to date.

I agreed to join an informal international advisory body, ‘Friends of TFFF’, which continues to advocate in support of the TFFF.

We enjoyed a wide-ranging, informal discussion and the Ambassador expressed his enthusiasm to work closely with the Foundation, particularly on the energy transition initiative. Ambassador Liu accepted our offer to host him for a dinner with members at an early date.

Welcome also to new civil society members of our Global Alliance:

Read more about our Global Alliance on our website.

As mentioned earlier, planning is well underway for the Foundation’s most important global meeting for the period ahead, our 2027 Rome Roundtable, to be held at and in conjunction with the Vatican, in late January, with exact dates to be advised shortly.

As indicated in our call for registrations of interest, this will be a high-level, small-scale meeting of global leaders, including the Foundation’s major supporters, along with representatives and invitees of the Vatican, other faith leaders and contributors from across the Foundation’s Global Alliance.

The Foundation has proposed an agenda for the roundtable, which is in under discussion with the Vatican at present, framed around the major topic of global ‘sustainability’ – economic, environmental, social and also, with the rapid rise of AI, ‘technological sustainability’.

This will be an unusual opportunity to showcase responsible business leadership on great issues affecting the planet, working with leaders from faiths, civil society and institutions.

Should you be interested, and have not already done so, please be sure to register your interest in participating at the Rome Roundtable by emailing me at your soonest convenience.