Yahoo TV

STORY: One of the most sacred places in Catholicism is getting in on the AI boom.

The Vatican - along with Microsoft - has launched a digital replica of St Peter’s Basilica and two artificial intelligence-enabled exhibitions.

With the help of Iconem, a company that digitizes heritage sites, visitors now have virtual access to the Vatican's Renaissance-era treasures, and enhanced tours.

The 3D model of St. Peter's was built by scanning the basilica with drones, cameras and lasers. Drones flew at night for 4 weeks, taking over 400,000 photographs… and AI algorithms pieced together the collected data.

The project was presented to Pope Francis – who has repeatedly warned AI must only be used in an ethical way to benefit humanity.

POPE: “The correct and constructive use of (AI's) potential, which is certainly useful but ambivalent, depends on us.” // We must therefore govern the technique, remembering that its products are good not only when they work well, but first and foremost when they help us to grow. That is the purpose."

The digitization of St Peter’s was unveiled ahead of the Catholic Church's Jubilee celebrations in 2025, which come around every quarter century.