AI and Faith
AI and faith meet at the point where technology forces humanity to reconsider dignity, purpose, and moral responsibility. Many religious traditions see AI as a positive tool for society to use, while also raising concerns about justice, identity, and the limits of machine reasoning. Across these traditions, leaders emphasize that AI must remain grounded in human moral agency, empathy, and spiritual insight. Overall, the dialogue between AI and faith is not about resisting technology but about shaping it. Religious voices seek to ensure that AI serves humanity ethically, preserves what is sacred about human life, and supports a future rooted in wisdom, compassion, and moral responsibility.
Dr DZ Kalman
DZ Kalman is the host of Belief in the Future, a podcast about religion and technology. He is a fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, leads a research team on AI and Judaism at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and is senior advisor at Sinai and Synapses. He is a member of the Faith Family Technology Network, as well as AI and Faith. He writes at Jello Menorah.
Will Jones
Will Jones is an Associate of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute (FLI). The Futures Program aims to guide humanity towards the beneficial outcomes made possible by transformative technologies. Jones leads FLI’s religions initiative, which supports religious groups to voice their faith-specific concerns and hopes for a world with AI, and works with them to resist the harms and realise the benefits. In 2021 he attained a 1st Class Honours in English from the University of Cambridge.
Chris Scammell
Chris Scammell is co-founder of the Buddhism & AI Initiative, which brings together Buddhist practitioners, technologists, and contemplative researchers to shape the future of artificial intelligence. He was previously Chief Operating Officer of Conjecture, an AI safety company that emerged from the open-source collective EleutherAI.
He holds a degree in Computer Science, Anthropology, and Philosophy from Colby College, and studied with the Carleton-Antioch Buddhist Studies Programme in Bodh Gaya. He has lived in Buddhist monasteries in London, Canada, and India, and attended the 2025 Mind & Life Dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on minds, AI, and ethics. His writing on emptiness, AI alignment, and Buddhist responses to AI development appears at the Buddhism & AI Initiative Substack.
Audrey E. Kitagawa
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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.
