Faith-AI Covenant Paris Roundtable Explores Human Dignity, Trust and Resilience in the Age of AI
PARIS, FRANCE, June 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Senior faith leaders, technology companies, policymakers, ethicists and academics from across Europe gathered in Paris last Friday for the second regional roundtable of the Faith-AI Covenant, a global initiative to help shape the values and principles guiding the future development of artificial intelligence.
Held at Le Bristol Hotel Paris, the roundtable brought together representatives from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Amazon Web Services, alongside leaders from major faith communities, international religious organisations, academia, civil society and AI governance institutions.
Organised by the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities (IAFSC) in partnership with Precognition, and co-chaired by Dana Humaid, Chief Executive of IAFSC, and Baroness Joanna Shields OBE, CEO of Precognition and the former UK’s first Minister for Internet Safety and Security, the Faith-AI Covenant was established to bring faith leaders and technology experts into direct dialogue at a defining moment for humanity.
As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how people access knowledge, form beliefs, seek guidance and understand the world around them, the Covenant aims to ensure that AI development remains anchored in human dignity, moral responsibility and the common good. The initiative was set up to help close the gap between technological innovation and ethical reflection, and to ensure that communities with deep experience in questions of meaning, vulnerability, conscience and social trust are part of the conversation from the outset.
The Paris convening opened with reflections on the spiritual dimensions of innovation and the purpose of the Covenant, before Anthropic led a session on advanced AI systems. Participants then took part in working sessions examining how people increasingly turn to AI for guidance, and how societies can build the trust, resilience and adaptability needed to navigate a rapidly evolving AI landscape as AI reshapes the way people search for meaning, form beliefs, build relationships and interpret authority.
“We cannot afford to treat AI as a purely technical issue,” said Dana Humaid, Co-Chair of the Faith-AI Covenant and Chief Executive of IAFSC. “AI is already entering the spaces where people seek guidance, reassurance, belonging and meaning. Those are also the spaces where vulnerability can be exploited. The UAE’s experience in bringing together tolerance, advanced technology and community resilience has helped guide the spirit of these roundtables and the wider Covenant process. Friday’s discussion made clear that if we are serious about countering radicalisation, manipulation and online harm in the age of AI, faith leaders, technologists and policymakers need to be in the same room now, not years after the damage has been done.”
“We’re living through a moment of extraordinary consequence. The recent G7 Summit showed how closely world leaders and the creators and builders of AI are now working together to shape the future of this technology,” said Baroness Joanna Shields, Co-Chair of the Faith-AI Covenant and CEO of Precognition. “The Faith–AI Covenant brings a third dimension to that conversation: faith leaders, who represent billions of people and are on the front lines of society’s adaptation to AI. The defining challenge of the AI era isn’t simply building increasingly capable systems. It’s strengthening society’s capacity to adapt. The conversations in Paris reinforced why that work matters and will help shape the next phase of the Faith–AI Covenant.”
The Paris roundtable built on the initiative's inaugural gathering in New York in April and forms part of a global process to develop a Faith-AI Covenant rooted in human dignity, responsibility and the common good. Insights from each regional convening will inform the final Covenant, with further roundtables to be held in Nairobi, Beijing, Singapore, Bengaluru and Rome, before concluding with a final gathering in Abu Dhabi, where the Covenant will be formally launched.
Participants included representatives from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Holy See, the Chief Rabbinate of France, the Fédération Protestante de France, the Supreme Council of Muslims in Germany, the World Council of Churches, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the European Buddhist Union, Sikhs de France, the Bahá’ís de France and the Holy See, alongside AI and policy experts from Paris-Sorbonne University, the OECD, the World Economic Forum, AI Safety Connect, ROOST, the Center for Humane Technology, the Future of Life Institute and other organisations.
The Paris discussion explored the risks posed by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media, particularly their potential to undermine trust, inflame community tensions and accelerate radicalisation. Participants considered practical ways to improve AI literacy among faith leaders and community organisations, while ensuring that technology developers have a deeper understanding of the social, spiritual and psychological contexts in which AI systems are used.
His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, who supported the Paris convening, said: “Artificial intelligence raises profound questions about truth, freedom and the dignity of the human person. Faith communities have a responsibility to engage with these questions, not from a place of fear, but from a place of wisdom and service. The conversation in Paris showed that dialogue between faith and technology is not only possible, but necessary for the peace and resilience of our communities.”
Nicolas Miailhe, Co-Founder of AI Safety Connect, which also supported the event, said: “Faith traditions hold something unique that private or public institutions cannot manufacture: an account of human dignity that does not bend to markets or to power. It is imperative that their wisdom reaches the people who build and govern the AI systems, extant and at the frontier, as a design principle, not as a sermon. The Faith-AI Covenant opens that door to multiple faiths and AI experts.”
The Faith-AI Covenant roundtables are designed to create a shared platform for dialogue between faith leaders, AI companies, policymakers and civil society. The Covenant aims to develop shared principles and voluntary commitments that can help ensure AI systems are developed, governed and used in ways that protect human dignity, strengthen social trust and serve the common good.
About the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities:
The IAFSC was established to empower faith leaders to work for the safety and security of communities, tackling issues such as child sexual abuse, extremism, radicalisation and human trafficking. The IAFSC works to build bridges between key stakeholders, including faith communities, NGOs, experts and institutions, and to mobilise faith leaders at both institutional and grassroots levels to play a more active role in community safety.
About Precognition:
Precognition is a strategic advisory firm based in London. The firm provides strategic guidance and execution for businesses, thought leaders and governments operating at the frontier of AI and emerging technology.
www.precognition.com
Held at Le Bristol Hotel Paris, the roundtable brought together representatives from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Amazon Web Services, alongside leaders from major faith communities, international religious organisations, academia, civil society and AI governance institutions.
Organised by the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities (IAFSC) in partnership with Precognition, and co-chaired by Dana Humaid, Chief Executive of IAFSC, and Baroness Joanna Shields OBE, CEO of Precognition and the former UK’s first Minister for Internet Safety and Security, the Faith-AI Covenant was established to bring faith leaders and technology experts into direct dialogue at a defining moment for humanity.
As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how people access knowledge, form beliefs, seek guidance and understand the world around them, the Covenant aims to ensure that AI development remains anchored in human dignity, moral responsibility and the common good. The initiative was set up to help close the gap between technological innovation and ethical reflection, and to ensure that communities with deep experience in questions of meaning, vulnerability, conscience and social trust are part of the conversation from the outset.
The Paris convening opened with reflections on the spiritual dimensions of innovation and the purpose of the Covenant, before Anthropic led a session on advanced AI systems. Participants then took part in working sessions examining how people increasingly turn to AI for guidance, and how societies can build the trust, resilience and adaptability needed to navigate a rapidly evolving AI landscape as AI reshapes the way people search for meaning, form beliefs, build relationships and interpret authority.
“We cannot afford to treat AI as a purely technical issue,” said Dana Humaid, Co-Chair of the Faith-AI Covenant and Chief Executive of IAFSC. “AI is already entering the spaces where people seek guidance, reassurance, belonging and meaning. Those are also the spaces where vulnerability can be exploited. The UAE’s experience in bringing together tolerance, advanced technology and community resilience has helped guide the spirit of these roundtables and the wider Covenant process. Friday’s discussion made clear that if we are serious about countering radicalisation, manipulation and online harm in the age of AI, faith leaders, technologists and policymakers need to be in the same room now, not years after the damage has been done.”
“We’re living through a moment of extraordinary consequence. The recent G7 Summit showed how closely world leaders and the creators and builders of AI are now working together to shape the future of this technology,” said Baroness Joanna Shields, Co-Chair of the Faith-AI Covenant and CEO of Precognition. “The Faith–AI Covenant brings a third dimension to that conversation: faith leaders, who represent billions of people and are on the front lines of society’s adaptation to AI. The defining challenge of the AI era isn’t simply building increasingly capable systems. It’s strengthening society’s capacity to adapt. The conversations in Paris reinforced why that work matters and will help shape the next phase of the Faith–AI Covenant.”
The Paris roundtable built on the initiative's inaugural gathering in New York in April and forms part of a global process to develop a Faith-AI Covenant rooted in human dignity, responsibility and the common good. Insights from each regional convening will inform the final Covenant, with further roundtables to be held in Nairobi, Beijing, Singapore, Bengaluru and Rome, before concluding with a final gathering in Abu Dhabi, where the Covenant will be formally launched.
Participants included representatives from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Holy See, the Chief Rabbinate of France, the Fédération Protestante de France, the Supreme Council of Muslims in Germany, the World Council of Churches, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the European Buddhist Union, Sikhs de France, the Bahá’ís de France and the Holy See, alongside AI and policy experts from Paris-Sorbonne University, the OECD, the World Economic Forum, AI Safety Connect, ROOST, the Center for Humane Technology, the Future of Life Institute and other organisations.
The Paris discussion explored the risks posed by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media, particularly their potential to undermine trust, inflame community tensions and accelerate radicalisation. Participants considered practical ways to improve AI literacy among faith leaders and community organisations, while ensuring that technology developers have a deeper understanding of the social, spiritual and psychological contexts in which AI systems are used.
His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, who supported the Paris convening, said: “Artificial intelligence raises profound questions about truth, freedom and the dignity of the human person. Faith communities have a responsibility to engage with these questions, not from a place of fear, but from a place of wisdom and service. The conversation in Paris showed that dialogue between faith and technology is not only possible, but necessary for the peace and resilience of our communities.”
Nicolas Miailhe, Co-Founder of AI Safety Connect, which also supported the event, said: “Faith traditions hold something unique that private or public institutions cannot manufacture: an account of human dignity that does not bend to markets or to power. It is imperative that their wisdom reaches the people who build and govern the AI systems, extant and at the frontier, as a design principle, not as a sermon. The Faith-AI Covenant opens that door to multiple faiths and AI experts.”
The Faith-AI Covenant roundtables are designed to create a shared platform for dialogue between faith leaders, AI companies, policymakers and civil society. The Covenant aims to develop shared principles and voluntary commitments that can help ensure AI systems are developed, governed and used in ways that protect human dignity, strengthen social trust and serve the common good.
About the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities:
The IAFSC was established to empower faith leaders to work for the safety and security of communities, tackling issues such as child sexual abuse, extremism, radicalisation and human trafficking. The IAFSC works to build bridges between key stakeholders, including faith communities, NGOs, experts and institutions, and to mobilise faith leaders at both institutional and grassroots levels to play a more active role in community safety.
About Precognition:
Precognition is a strategic advisory firm based in London. The firm provides strategic guidance and execution for businesses, thought leaders and governments operating at the frontier of AI and emerging technology.
www.precognition.com
The Faith-AI Covenant
The Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities
info@iafsc.org
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