AI and Human Flourishing
August 6, 2026 | 12 PM EST

AI and Human Flourishing

AI can support human flourishing when it is designed to enhance, rather than replace, uniquely human capacities such as empathy, creativity, and moral judgment. It can expand access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity, helping individuals and communities thrive. At the same time, AI must be guided by ethical frameworks that protect dignity, agency, and the social bonds people depend on. There is a particular concern for children and youth, regarding how AI is affecting their human flourishing and ability to build strong, human relationships. When aligned with human values, AI can become a tool that strengthens society.
Ali Khan

Ali Khan

Ali is the Founder & CEO of SHAPE Global and a visiting professor of the School of Business, Education & Law of the University of Huddersfield. He is an advisor at Thriving Workers, Thriving Workplaces Program, Centre for Work, Health & Well-being, and the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Ali serves as a member of the Governance Council of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). He is a speaker, including for TEDx. Ali has 25+ years of global experience across health, data, and technology through ventures including ARK Re. He has 9 years of experience in innovation leadership at AXA’s UK Well-being Division as Chief Science Innovation Officer. Ali founded the AXA Mind Health Index, a longitudinal study on population mental health across 16 countries. He is a contributor to multiple academic and innovation programs advancing human performance and flourishing.
Angela Nielsen Redding

Angela Nielsen Redding

Angela Nielsen Redding currently serves as Executive Director at Radiant Foundation and the Faith & Media Initiative, which invest in more accurate, nuanced representation of all faiths in news, entertainment, and AI. Prior to her work at Radiant, she founded a media innovation trade association, shaping multi-million and billion-dollar investments. Her professional experience includes decades of management consulting and nonprofit management for some of the largest and most impactful corporations, nonprofits, and startups in the world. Angela is a faith-motivated global innovator, thought leader, and data enthusiast. But most of all, she loves adventuring with her husband and two little girls.
Iliana Grosse-Buening

Iliana Grosse-Buening

Iliana Grosse-Buening is an AI ethics and digital wellbeing expert working at the intersection of technology, ethics and human flourishing. She is Co-Founder and CEO of Deeply Human Innovation, a strategy, research and design firm advancing humanity-centred innovation. She serves as Chair of the IEEE Global AI Systems Flourishing Initiative and is an expert with UNESCO’s AI Ethics Experts Without Borders network. She is also Adjunct Professor of Digital Wellbeing at IE University and IE Business School, and an Affiliate of the IE UNESCO Chair for AI Ethics and Governance. With more than a decade of international experience across five continents, Iliana advises multinational companies, global charities, universities and public institutions on AI ethics, digital wellbeing and responsible innovation. Her research has been published by Springer Nature and De Gruyter.

Mark Graves

Mark Graves is Research Director at AI and Faith, Research Associate Professor of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Visiting Scholar at University of San Francisco Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought and the Ignatian Tradition. In addition to earning his PhD in computer science (artificial intelligence) from University of Michigan and a MA in systematic and philosophical theology from Graduate Theological Union and Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, he has completed fellowships in genomics, moral psychology, and moral theology. He held teaching or research positions at eight institutions of higher learning and published ninety technical and scholarly works in computer science, biology, psychology, theology, and ethics, including the books and scholarly works in computer science, biology, psychology, and theology, including the books Mind, Brain, and the Elusive Soul (2008) and Insight to Heal: Co-Creating Beauty Amidst Human Suffering (2013). Mark also has 15 years’ experience developing AI and data solutions in biotech, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries. His current research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and theology from computational, psychological, and philosophical perspectives.

Audrey E. Kitagawa

--- Moderator ---

Audrey E. Kitagawa, JD, is the President/Founder of the International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation, President of the Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family, and the former Advisor to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations. She is a United Nations Representative for the United Religions Initiative, and is Chair Emerita of the NGO Committee of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, NY. She has been enstooled into the royal family as the Nekoso Hemaa, (i.e. Queen Mother of Development), of Ajiyamanti in Ghana, West Africa, and has a school which she helped to build named after her in her African name, the Nana Ode Anyankobea Junior Secondary School. She wrote the chapter, Crossing World Views, The Power of Perspective in the Hawaii Japanese American Experience, which was published in a book about multiculturalism, communication and Asian women entitled, Learning In The Light. Her chapter, Globalization As The Fuel For Religious And Ethnic Conflict has been published in the book, Globalization And Identity, Cultural Diversity, Religion and Citizenship. Her article, The Role Of Identity In The Rise And Decline of Buddhism In Hawaii, The 50th State Of The United States Of America, has been published in Sambhodi, a Buddhist Journal. She published articles in World Affairs The Journal Of International Issues, entitled, The Power of Om: Transformation of Consciousness, and Practical Spirituality. She wrote the chapter, The US In Foreign Affairs: Source of Global Security, Or Source of Global Fear? in the book, America & The World The Double Bind. She has been listed in Who’s Who Of American Law, Who’s Who Of American Women, Who’s Who In America, Who’s Who In The World, and Prominent People of Hawaii. She is the recipient of the Medal “Pride of Eurasia” and a Diploma from the Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and Science L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University for her outstanding contribution to the development of spiritual culture and education in Eurasia. She is the recipient of the Spirit of the UN Award which is given to outstanding individuals who have demonstrated the vision and spirit of the United Nations as expressed through the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She is the recipient of a Citation from the Office of the President for the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York, for her commitment to community well being by providing outstanding services and support to local residents, youth and those in need. She was conferred an Honorary Interfaith Minister degree by the New Seminary.
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