Pope warns about AI, fake news and 'manipulating minds'

Pope Francis addresses the audience during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. [Alberto Pizzoli, AFP]

Pope Francis warned on Thursday of the dangers of misinformation and its spread via social media and artificial intelligence (AI), cautioning it could be "misused to manipulate minds".

In his traditional New Year's address to diplomats at the Vatican, Francis lamented the increasing polarisation of society, "aggravated by the continuous creation and spread of fake news, which not only distorts facts but also perceptions".