Right or wrong, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reached more than half the world’s organizations in just three years, and is triggering fundamental changes in society faster than the digital revolutions of the personal computer or even the internet ever did. As AI becomes just another go-to tool as common as the calculator, many young people rely on it as a first-stop resource for advice on everything from schoolwork to reassurance on deeply personal questions. With this in mind, AI systems are shaping how people seek truth, make moral decisions, and understand who they are.
This leads to a fundamental question that is often overlooked but critically important: Can AI be ethical? Does something that influences the way in which we get our information, communicate with others, troubleshoot problems, and create art still require dedicated human input? As AI rapidly advances in reshaping nearly every aspect of human life; from economics and governance to personal relationships and decision-making, the growing risk is that it will evolve without sufficient grounding in ethical and moral principles.
This question is not simply normative in nature. The prevalence of AI has divided societies at all levels. Some teachers regard AI as something to be discarded altogether not just for the dangers already noted, but because it increasingly removes the human factor in creativity and thought. Others either completely embrace the new technology as a profitable leap forward, or have made peace with the fact that it is here to stay and stopped resisting the inevitable. Whatever the position, the strength and utility of AI rests on pre-existing material to draw information from. That information, like the internet, the television, and the radio of before, AI is a vessel that carries information from sender to receiver, but that information, derived from billions of internet pages and calculated algorithms, relies almost entirely on what humans put into it.
Within the latter group that accepts the realities of AI, some advocate for regulation that ensures technological progress remains aligned with human values. One of the most promising new responses to this challenge is the emerging Faith-AI Covenant initiative led by the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities (IAFSC), a Geneva-based organization established in 2018 to help faith leaders build safer communities, in partnership with Precognition CEO Baroness Joanna Shields, a tech industry pioneer and a former UK Minister for Internet Safety and Security, which highlights the critical role of religious and moral frameworks in guiding the future development of AI.
At its core, the Faith-AI Covenant recognizes that technology cannot be developed in a vacuum. While technical expertise drives innovation, it does not inherently provide answers to questions of right and wrong, justice and harm, or dignity and responsibility. These are domains that religion and long-standing moral traditions have grappled with for centuries. By bringing faith leaders, ethicists, and technologists into the same conversation, the initiative seeks to bridge a gap that has too often been overlooked in the race for innovation. These “Stewards,” as noted in the conclusion of the inaugural New York roundtable, should offer “moral and spiritual” guidance to the technology developers, or “Builders” in a symbiotic relation that harnesses the latest innovation in technology within a “moral governance” of AI that upholds the sanctity of human dignity.
Initiatives such as this may seem at first to be little more than cosmetics to something already embedded in human life; however, the urgency of this effort cannot be overstated. AI systems are already influencing decisions in healthcare, spirituality, law enforcement, finance, and warfare, and the most vocal proponents of AI appear more interested in its technological reach than its offered content. Without clear ethical guidance, these systems risk reinforcing bias, increasing radicalization, and making decisions that lack accountability. Â Worse still, poorly governed AI could be weaponized or misused in ways that destabilize societies, perpetuate misinformation, and become a tool for the wealthy and the powerful. The inclusion of moral and religious perspectives offers a counterbalance – providing a framework rooted in human dignity, compassion, and accountability that transcends purely utilitarian or profit-driven considerations.
Religion, in particular, brings a unique and valuable dimension to AI ethics. Across cultures and traditions, religious teachings emphasize principles such as justice, stewardship, humility, and the sanctity of life. These values can serve as a compass for developers and policymakers navigating complex ethical dilemmas. Why is this important? Just a little over a year ago, Springtide found that 71 percent of American 13- to 25-year-olds describe themselves as at least slightly religious and 79 percent as at least slightly spiritual. Additionally, Pew Research Center found that 64 percent of U.S. teens use AI chatbots, with around 3 in 10 using them daily. Rather than replacing scientific or technical reasoning, faith-based perspectives enrich the conversation, ensuring that human well-being remains at the center of innovation. In many ways, religion is no stranger to lending moral and humanitarian credibility to the latest advances in modernity and technology.
The leadership behind the Faith-AI Covenant underscores its global significance. Joanna Shields, a former UK Minister of the House of Lords, co-chairs the initiative with Dana Humaid, Chief Executive of the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities. They have been instrumental in championing a more inclusive and values-driven approach to AI governance. Their efforts reflect a broader recognition that ethical AI is not merely a technical challenge, but a societal one – requiring collaboration across disciplines, cultures, and belief systems.
Dana Humaid comes from the United Arab Emirates; a country that for years has promoted a socio-political leadership guiding of technological innovation. Put simply, modernization, when harnessed, regulated, and directed by the state, can foster progress that is both forward-looking and deeply rooted in shared human values. The Faith-AI Covenant initiative has found inspiration in a distinctly Emirati approach to creating social, ethical and technological cohesion, in which technological advancement is guided not only by what is possible, but by what is ethically necessary.
This may raise concerns among those questioning what the state considers “right” or “necessary.” However throughout history, the advent of modern technological phenomena that has challenged the preexisting status quo of doing things faced similar debates between those who argue that the wealth of nations is driven by unfettered technological development and those who insist that development happens within preexisting channels of established moral sentiments.Â
Ultimately, the future of AI will depend on the choices we make today. If development continues without meaningful ethical oversight, the consequences could be profound and irreversible. However, by integrating moral wisdom, particularly from religious traditions, into the fabric of AI governance, there is an opportunity to steer this transformative technology toward outcomes that benefit humanity as a whole. The Faith-AI Covenant, whose most recent symposium took place June 26 in Paris, continues to be an important step in that direction, signaling that the path forward must be one where innovation and ethics evolve hand in hand.