Key Takeaways
- Elder Gerrit W. Gong urged AI developers to embed a moral compass that reflects faith traditions, human values, and the “gift of possibility” for every person.
- New research from the Consortium for Evaluating Faith and Ethics in AI (CEFE‑AI) revealed systematic religious bias in current AI models, prompting the launch of the AllFaith Benchmark to measure pluralistic representation.
- Gong proposed five concrete design principles for AI personas: protect moral agency, balance altruistic values, ensure transparency, preserve the human pause before decisions, and mitigate tendencies toward bias, deceit, and self‑interest.
- Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnificent Humanity” and Gong’s remarks converged on the need for AI to serve human conscience, not replace it, and stressed that moral authority cannot be delegated to profit‑driven corporations or governments.
- The summit positioned Athens as a symbolic reminder that today’s AI dilemmas echo ancient philosophical questions about truth, virtue, and responsible agency.
Opening Remarks and Vision for AI
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles opened the AI Summit on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence in Athens with a lofty aspiration: “I want AI to have moral compass that can inspire and enable anyone anywhere with the gift of possibility to do good and become their best self.” He described AI’s potential to “find a needle of pattern in a massive data haystack” and use that ability to “identify and nurture each person to flourish in their choices with capacity, dignity and worth.” Gong stressed that realizing this vision demands intentionality from creators, warning that “we will not fulfill AI’s full potential until we make it as morally good as we make it powerful.” His call to action placed responsibility squarely on humanity: “we, and not any technology, take responsibility to chart our best future.”
Religious Bias Findings and the Consortium
Gong announced the formation of the Consortium for Evaluating Faith and Ethics in AI (CEFE‑AI), first unveiled in Rome the previous fall, and shared findings from four member institutions—Baylor, BYU, Notre Dame, and Yeshiva University. The consortium’s new studies revealed that “AI systems currently display systematic religious bias,” a shortfall that undermines the technology’s ability to reflect the pluralistic tapestry of human belief. To address this, CEFE‑AI introduced the AllFaith Benchmark, a measurement tool with a public leaderboard that shows which AI models best reflect diverse faith traditions. Gong clarified that the benchmark “is not an effort to enlist those AI systems in conversion” and emphasized that “pluralistically portraying faith traditions accurately, honestly and respectfully does not privilege one faith tradition over another or belief over nonbelief.”
Operational Recommendations for AI Design
Beyond assessment, Gong offered five actionable design principles for AI personas intended to ground technology in human morality:
- Protect and promote human moral agency.
- Imbue moral compass with balances altruistic values.
- Disclose AI transparency.
- Preserve the human ability to pause before decisions.
- Mitigate AI tendencies toward will‑to‑power, bias, deceit, narcissism, sycophancy and self‑preservation.
He argued that these principles would help AI “bridge, not widen, digital divides” and ensure that algorithmic systems serve rather than supplant human judgment.
Interfaith Consensus and Moral Leadership
The summit highlighted a striking alignment between Gong’s remarks and Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical, “Magnificent Humanity: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.” Both leaders condemned the notion that algorithmic reasoning could equal human intelligence and urged transparency that would help AI “bridge, not widen, digital divides.” Gong quoted Pope Leo’s warning that “neither profit‑motivated technology companies nor politically motivated governments can be left to determine society’s AI moral compass.” The Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, praised Gong’s address as “one that could live for a century,” underscoring the rare interfaith consensus that ethical AI must be rooted in enduring moral traditions rather than market or political expediency.
The Role of Faith Traditions in Anchoring AI
Gong asserted that “faith leaders have much to contribute,” arguing that enduring values, virtues, and wisdom from scriptural stories are essential to anchor AI with a moral compass. He warned that without such grounding, AI “has startling potential for good and evil in areas like digital security and digital sovereignty.” To counteract this risk, he called for “pluralistic faith‑and‑ethics AI evaluation benchmarks” that would ensure systems understand the “whys” before they can properly support human agency and values. The Apostle emphasized that AI must not become the arbiter of value; instead, it should reflect the “gift of possibility” inherent in every human being, a sentiment echoed by Pope Leo’s insistence on safeguarding the human person.
Human Agency and the Limits of Algorithmic Reasoning
A recurring theme was the necessity of preserving human conscience in the face of increasingly capable AI. Gong warned that “rules and regulations cannot bear the whole moral weight,” insisting that “AI personas need reasons — not only rules.” He urged developers to design systems that encourage users to pause, reflect, and exercise moral judgment before acting on AI‑generated suggestions. This stance mirrors the summit’s broader call to “distinguish between machine decision‑making and human conscience” and to recognize that “marketplaces and governments ultimately cannot arbitrate or legislate how we determine and live truth.” By insisting on transparency and accountability, Gong sought to ensure that AI remains a tool that amplifies, rather than overrides, human responsibility.
Aspirational Stories and the Gift of Possibility
Drawing from his recent ministry travels across Africa and a visit to the Caribbean island of Nevis, Gong illustrated the boundless potential he sees in every individual. He recounted meeting a schoolteacher in Nevis who believed any of her students could become the next Alexander Hamilton, noting, “Everywhere I go, now to some 120 countries or territories, I see divine potential and possibility.” He framed this belief as the core of the “AI gift of possibility”: a technology that expands human agency, prioritizes learning and character, and empowers individuals with dignity and purpose as they contribute meaningfully to a transforming world. Such stories, he argued, should inspire AI developers to embed optimism and opportunity into their models, ensuring that the technology serves as a catalyst for human flourishing rather than a mechanism of control.
Conclusion and Call to Action
In closing, Gong outlined a roadmap for stakeholders: define what it means to be human; point AI toward free, fair, and meaningful futures; distinguish machine decision‑making from human conscience; determine accountability for AI and its agents; and acknowledge that neither markets nor governments can solely dictate moral truth. He reminded the audience that the summit’s location in Athens—the birthplace of Western philosophy and democracy—was intentional, reminding participants that today’s AI dilemmas echo ancient questions about virtue, truth, and responsible agency. By uniting faith leaders, technologists, policymakers, and scholars, the summit aspired to forge a future where AI’s power is harnessed not for domination but for the upliftment of every person, fulfilling Gong’s vision of a morally grounded technology that enables all to “do good and become their best self.”
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2026/05/26/elder-gerrit-w-gong-athens-ai-religion/