AI Companies Meet Religious Leaders to Discuss Morals in Artificial Intelligence

By: Harsh Vardhan

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Updated on: 11-May-2026 03:00 PM

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Executives from leading AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI met with religious leaders to discuss integrating moral values into artificial intelligence. This meeting took place in New York during the inaugural “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable, organized by the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities. The event comes as concerns grow about the ethical direction of AI, especially with the advancement toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Key Highlights

• Anthropic and OpenAI met religious leaders to discuss moral values in AI models.
• The Faith-AI Covenant roundtable included leaders from Hindu, Sikh, Baha’i, Christian, and Orthodox communities.
• Future meetings are planned in Beijing, Nairobi, and Abu Dhabi to continue these discussions.
• Anthropic’s Claude chatbot constitution was developed with input from religious and ethics leaders.
• Religious groups have issued their own guidance on AI, emphasizing ethical engagement with technology.

AI Firms Seek Ethical Guidance

Leaders from several religious groups attended the meeting. These included representatives from the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Baha’i International Community, The Sikh Coalition, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Geneva-based Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, which addresses issues like extremism and human trafficking, facilitated the discussion.

According to the Associated Press, this meeting may be the first in a series, with similar events planned for Beijing, Nairobi, and Abu Dhabi. Historically, Silicon Valley has kept a distance from organized religion in its policy-making. However, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are now engaging with religious groups to better understand how to create ethical AI systems.

The discussions focused on how religious leaders could help shape the moral framework of AI models. Baroness Joanna Shields, a former executive at Google and Facebook, participated in the initiative. She stated that the goal is to develop a set of norms or principles for AI, informed by various faiths, including Christianity, Sikhism, and Buddhism.

Challenges and Ongoing Efforts

Some critics point out that different religious groups have varying values, which could make it difficult to establish universal principles for AI ethics. Despite this, technology companies have begun to consult philosophers and ethicists to guide AI development.

In March, Anthropic met with 15 Christian leaders in San Francisco to discuss the moral direction of its chatbot, Claude. The company’s public “Claude Constitution” states, “We want Claude to do what a deeply and skillfully ethical person would do in Claude’s position.” Anthropic has said that religious and ethics leaders helped develop this constitution.

Religious organizations have also issued their own guidance on AI. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for example, has stated that AI cannot replace divine inspiration but can be a useful tool for learning and teaching. In 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution urging proactive engagement with emerging technologies, including AI.

While more collaboration between technology and religious groups is expected, it remains uncertain how these discussions will influence future AI development and regulation.