How AI Advances and Threatens Religious Freedom | Opinion

The world is facing one of the most difficult times in history since World War II—ongoing conflicts, growing security threats, polarization of societies, rising populism, and radical extremism. In this context the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies is mind-blowing, and there is much to be excited about and celebrated. There is also a wide array of implications for religious freedom—both positive and negative.
Already AI is being misused for disinformation, fake news, and surveillance. These are all factors which have a direct impact on religious communities which are under extreme pressure. If we want to overcome injustice and repression, we must be one step ahead. We must seek to understand AI and develop systems which serve to disrupt immoral applications, and to strengthen the fight for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). It is therefore incredibly important that more is done to connect experts in the field of AI and ethics with political decision-makers.
In October, the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) met in Berlin for the annual ministerial, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Frank Schwabe, member of the Bundestag and commissioner for global freedom of religion, produced and led a compelling conference focusing on the implications of AI for FoRB. IRFBA, known as the Article 18 Alliance in reference to article 18 in the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is formed of 43 countries represented at government-level, with a mandate to defend and advance religious freedom for all.
Presentations and discussions demonstrated that the task ahead for us is daunting given the pace of developments, the breadth of applications for generative AI, and the scope of its uses for good and ill. However, it is a challenge from which we cannot shirk.
We should be in no doubt about the inevitability of a world in which AI plays a major part in the workplace, health care, security, environmental concerns, social life, and even religious life.
Frank Schwabe and I issued a joint communiqué which affirmed our commitment as an alliance to this urgent work, establishing a multi-stakeholder dialogue with governments, civil society, religious actors, and tech companies focusing on deeper human rights impact assessments in tech companies, explicitly dealing with FoRB and its interconnection with other human rights, developing an exchange on the basic concepts underlying the stakeholders’ approaches to AI and FoRB, and a taxonomy of how behavior related to religion or belief manifests online.
Human history in relation to the development of technological breakthroughs demonstrates our remarkable capacity for creativity, science, and progress. It should also serve as a warning that, for the multitude of benefits that technological advances bring, they are usually accompanied by negative consequences of at least equal significance, if not greater impact. The greatest advances so often also contribute to existential threats to humanity.
Our dynamic capacity for creativity and our relentless drive toward advancement must be matched by our determination to guard against the existential threats posed by these developments. This isn’t about stifling progress but refining and ensuring that what we are creating really does serve us rather than diminish us.
In a world in which authoritarian regimes are constantly seeking new ways of subjecting and controlling their citizens, and subverting the stability of the wider world, there’s no doubt that free, democratic nations must be at the front end of technological developments including generative AI.
Our first priority must be to model the distinction between morally courageous leadership, and nefarious, exploitative tyranny. We must work multilaterally across the international community to put in place the legal framework and all necessary safeguards around AI-powered technology. We also should be doing everything necessary to hold bad actors accountable for their abuses. Specific to religious freedom, there’s a need to explore new applications that will serve to identify and predict threats to religious communities, to recognize and intervene when AI is being used to generate content promoting hatred and violence, and to map in great detail religious heritage sites that are threatened with destruction so they may be preserved.
Growing up in Communist Czechoslovakia, I recognize that there is not much which is new in the repressive tyrannies seen around the world today. They just have more powerful tools at their disposal. Our generation of religious freedom advocates, campaigners, and freedom-advancing governments, have a responsibility to engage with vision, creativity, and determination to ensure that AI developments are harnessed to preserve, defend, and advance the value and dignity of all human beings, regardless of their religious identity or beliefs. I’m excited to stand together with my colleagues from our Article 18 Alliance and take on this challenge and opportunity.
Robert Řehák is ambassador of Czechia for freedom of religion or belief, special envoy for Holocaust issues, and interfaith dialogue.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.