Artificial intelligence is no longer merely a technical field. It is a civilizational force reshaping knowledge, authority, and the formation of human belief on a global scale — unfolding faster than our social, legal, and moral institutions can adapt.
As AI systems become embedded in everyday life, they increasingly influence how people around the world interpret truth, meaning, and moral judgment. They are beginning to shape how individuals and communities think about identity, morality, and faith.
For the first time in history, human belief is being mediated at scale by machines. Without clear cultural grounding and doctrinal integrity, this presents unprecedented risks around the vulnerability of the next generation, the proliferation of digital harms, and the erosion of truth.
A global initiative by the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities (IAFSC), delivered in partnership with Precognition.
The initiative aims to bridge the gap between the Builders — technology developers — and the Stewards — moral and spiritual leaders — by ensuring that artificial intelligence reflects a dual imperative: advancing technical progress while upholding the sanctity of human dignity.
Through a series of roundtable dialogues across the world, the initiative will produce a Faith–AI Covenant: a suite of shared principles and voluntary pledges for AI companies, faith institutions, and multi-stakeholder coalitions.
Multi-faith · Multi-stakeholder · Global
Throughout 2026, regional roundtables will take place across seven global hubs — ensuring the final Covenant is a global synthesis of cultural wisdom and technical reality.
Each roundtable will convene 40–60 senior participants from technology companies, major religious traditions, faith-based organisations, civil society, and academia in key cities across the world. The roundtables will gather local insights, build multi-stakeholder consensus, and identify shared principles and values.
The journey culminates in a high-level summit in Abu Dhabi, where the Faith–AI Covenant will be formally adopted, bringing together senior leaders from technology, faith, and policy sectors to endorse the Covenant and bring it into life.
Read key documents guiding development of the Faith–AI Covenant.
As AI becomes integrated into the fabric of our lives, will humans remain morally awake and in control?
A short series of stories. Based on real cases, told by actors, exploring the interface between AI and faith. Posing questions to spark the conversations that matter most.
Watch the films →Aligning with the Covenant provides a unique opportunity to build sustained public trust beyond regulatory compliance. This collaborative environment enables leaders and engineering teams to uncover cultural and ethical nuances early in development, helping mitigate unforeseen reputational risks. It also offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a harmonised set of global ethical benchmarks, facilitating more consistent innovation across international markets.
The Covenant will serve as a vital platform for ensuring that AI development remains aligned with human flourishing and the sanctity of the individual. It provides a global voice for faith communities to advocate for the protection of the vulnerable and to address systemic issues like algorithmic bias. Participants help define the necessary boundaries for how technology interacts with sacred traditions, working to preserve religious heritage in an increasingly digital world.
An initiative of the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, the advisory steering group is chaired by Baroness Joanna Shields OBE — anchoring the initiative in a rigorous focus on safety. Her leadership draws on extensive experience in technology policy and internet safety to drive the Covenant toward meaningful implementation.
The Steering Group is responsible for guiding the development of the Covenant, helping bridge conceptual gaps between the technical ambitions of the AI industry and the moral traditions of diverse faith communities, and ensuring that marginalised voices and Global South perspectives remain central to the dialogue.
Following the Abu Dhabi summit, the Advisory Steering Group will oversee the development of a 12-month roadmap designed to monitor and report on the implementation of all summit outcomes, commitments, and pledges.