{
  "id": 14398709,
  "title": "Pope's AI adviser warns Australia's copyright changes risk 'new form of colonialism'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/popes-ai-adviser-warns-australias-copyright-changes-risk-new-form-of",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-14T07:36:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/pope-leo-xiv-ai-adviser-paolo-benanti-australia-copyright/107263800"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Father Paolo Benanti, AI adviser to Pope Leo, cautioned Australia against altering copyright laws to permit AI training on copyrighted material without permission. He expressed concern that such a move could risk creating a new form of colonialism, where profits are extracted from Australia and sent abroad. He argued that Australia's writing could become another resource exploited by foreign tech companies, resulting in a loss of revenue and tax revenue for the country. Benanti questioned whether this approach would be fair and beneficial to Australia, emphasizing the need for consideration before voting on such a change. The Australian government has been quietly consulting on the possibility of allowing AI companies to train on copyrighted content, despite Attorney-General Michelle Rowland stating that there are no plans to weaken copyright protections. Benanti highlighted Australia's efforts in regulating social media and AI, praising the country as being at the forefront of these issues. He advocated for other countries to emulate Australia's approach to controlling tech companies through policies like the teen social media ban.",
  "summary": "Father Paolo Benanti is a Franciscan friar but he's also a key adviser to the Vatican on AI and he has a warning for Australia on the actions of AI companies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}