{"id":713,"date":"2026-05-26T14:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=713"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:13:00","slug":"at-summit-in-athens-a-latter-day-saint-apostle-shares-soaring-hopes-hard-questions-for-ai-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=713","title":{"rendered":"At summit in Athens, a Latter-day Saint apostle shares soaring hopes, hard questions for AI systems"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A day after Pope Leo XIV delivered a major declaration in Rome about the future of a world with artificial intelligence, a Latter-day Saint apostle at an important summit in Athens, Greece, shared practical, actionable ways that AI tools can achieve their loftiest potential.<\/p>\n

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Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles kicked off the AI Summit on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence with a speech that imagined the greatest gift AI might provide humanity and also included warnings based on new research about how far AI has to go to correctly reflect human learning and experience.<\/p>\n

The aspiration was soaring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d said Elder Gong, who is in his ninth year serving as an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI that can find a needle of pattern in a massive data haystack can help identify and nurture each person to flourish in their choices with capacity, dignity and worth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Getting there will require AI creators to be more intentional about programming their systems to better reflect the human experiences and the wisdom found in faith traditions, moral teachings and human values, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not fulfill AI\u2019s full potential until we make it as morally good as we make it powerful,\u201d Elder Gong said. \u201cAnd we will not reach our full human potential until we, and not any technology, take responsibility to chart our best future.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI systems currently display systematic religious bias, according to new studies released at the summit by researchers from four major universities introduced by Elder Gong as the Consortium for Evaluating Faith and Ethics in AI. He announced the formation of the group in Rome last fall at the first Summit on Faith and Artificial Intelligence.<\/p>\n

The studies were designed to help AI creators, governments, academics and the public better understand religious biases in the world\u2019s budding AI systems.<\/p>\n

The apostle\u2019s talk was hailed by the Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, as one that could live for a century.<\/p>\n

The summit\u2019s goals are to galvanize the leadership of the world\u2019s 6 billion people of faith to encourage AI creators to accurately reflect in their systems the positive impact that ethics and religion have on the world, said Meredith Potter, executive director of the American Security Foundation, which sponsors the summit.<\/p>\n

The summit was positioned in Athens, the birthplace of Western philosophy and democracy \u2014 on purpose because the questions society faces now are as old as they are new, Potter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI\u2019s power is concentrated in the hands of a few but could empower the many,\u201d said Rabbi Dr. Harris Bor of the London School of Jewish Studies.<\/p>\n

Evangelical, Jewish, Greek Orthodox, Catholic and other religious leaders at the summit believe a pro-human AI future is possible but must be built purposefully.<\/p>\n

In that light, the Rev. Moore and other panelists at the summit hailed Pope Leo\u2019s encyclical, \u201cMagnificent Humanity: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” as an invaluable example of moral leadership.<\/p>\n

Where Pope Leo\u2019s and Elder Gong\u2019s messages converged<\/h3>\n

In their presentations, Pope Leo and Elder Gong agreed broadly and deeply, according to an analysis of both papers, especially when it comes to the urgency of anchoring AI with a moral compass in this phase of its creation.<\/p>\n

Elder Gong\u2019s talk was more operational, calling for ongoing, pluralistic testing of AI models. He also suggested design principles for AI personas.<\/p>\n

Both faith leaders said that AI cannot be the arbiter of value and that AI systems concentrate power in unique ways that must be subject to transparency, accountability and oversight.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither profit-motivated technology companies nor politically motivated governments can be left to determine society\u2019s AI moral compass,\u201d Elder Gong said.<\/p>\n

The morality and values rooted in the scriptural stories of faith traditions have made valuable contributions to humanity that should continue, both leaders said.<\/p>\n

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How faith traditions can improve AI systems<\/h3>\n

\u201cFaith leaders have much to contribute,\u201d Elder Gong said. \u201cWe need enduring values, virtues and wisdom to anchor AI with moral compass. To offer all it can for the greater good of individuals and societies, artificial intelligence needs to reflect faith, moral compass and the gift of possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elder Gong acknowledged that in two to five years, AI may equal or surpass human ability to perform many cognitive tasks through what is being called artificial general intelligence or artificial super intelligence.<\/p>\n

He said AI has startling potential for good and evil in areas like digital security and digital sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese developments underscore the need for pluralistic faith-and-ethics AI evaluation benchmarks and moral compass in AI,\u201d Elder Gong said.<\/p>\n

What faith-based tests of AI systems are finding<\/h3>\n

CEFE-AI researchers have created measurement tools to test AI systems called the AllFaith Benchmark that includes a leaderboard to show which systems best reflect faith. The benchmarks are not an effort to enlist those AI systems in conversion, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPluralistically portraying faith traditions accurately, honestly and respectfully does not privilege one faith tradition over another, or belief over nonbelief,\u201d Elder Gong said. He also said that \u201cpluralistically benchmarking faith and ethic is not an imposition of religion on AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

Testing or benchmarking is just a start in the effort to ground AI in a moral compass. He said AI systems need to understand the \u201cwhys\u201d before they can properly support human agency and values.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the schools that make up the consortium so far \u2014 Baylor, BYU, Notre Dame and Yeshiva University \u2014 shared three new studies that found religious bias in current AI models.<\/p>\n

In light of those findings and the rapid developments in AI, Elder Gong said now is time to:<\/p>\n