Vatican Preps For First-Of-Its-Kind Concert Featuring Nobel Laureates, Artists And AI

Last Updated:September 13, 2025, 23:38 IST

The Vatican is preparing for a first-of-its-kind concert in St Peter's Square, directed by American singer Pharrell Williams and celebrated Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli

Pope Leo shakes hands with American singer Pharrell Williams during an audience with participants of the "World Meeting on Human Fraternity" at the Vatican. (Reuters)

The Vatican is preparing to host the first-ever pop concert in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, bringing together a mix of the world’s biggest thinkers and music artists to hold discussions on the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Nobel Prize winners convened at the summit on Friday and Saturday to discuss everything from agriculture and economy to sports, as the Vatican gets ready to host a historic pop concert directed by American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams and celebrated Italian operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli, reported CNN.

Speakers at the event included Geoffrey Hinton, known as “the Godfather of AI", physicist Max Tegmark, Jimena Sofía Viveros Álvarez, a leading voice for ethical AI and more. Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and chief executive of the Rappler news site, also took part in the discussions.

American rapper will.i.am, who has been involved in AI since 2012, also took part in the discussions in Rome’s Palazzo Altieri. He heads a technology company called FYI.AI and supports computer science education in Los Angeles.

He said the Vatican event offered a “safe haven" for brainstorming talks on AI and expressed belief that Pope Leo and the church could play a key role in developing AI for the improvement of society and serving humanity. “I think governments need to get up to speed and put some regulations and governance in place, not to stifle growth but just to ensure that society is safe," he told CNN.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo addressed the participants on Friday, urging them to “identify local and international ways of developing new forms of social charity" and to see the “image of God in the face of the poor, the refugee and even the adversary."

A “human constitutional assembly" was held on Saturday, presided over by Graça Machel, widow of South Africa’s late President Nelson Mandela. This event was attended by several Nobel laureates. “If you don’t talk about humanity at the Vatican, I don’t know what else (you would talk about)," Ressa told CNN.

The event will culminate into a historic concert in St Peter’s Square on Saturday evening, marking the first of its kind to be held in the Vatican. This concert is open for everyone. The line-up includes prominent names such as John Legend, Teddy Swims, and Karol G.

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