Multifaith alliance of global religious and technology leaders signals commitment
to a human dignity-centered future
On July 8, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University, attended by invitation the historic, multifaith "AI Ethics for Peace: World Religions commit to the Rome Call" conference in Hiroshima, Japan to sign on to the Rome Call for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics. The Rome Call urges governments, technology companies, and other organizations to advance an ethical approach to AI in order to shape a responsible future that honors human dignity.
The inaugural event was jointly convened in Hiroshima by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel's Commission for Interreligious Relations, the Pontifical Academy for Life, and the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, from July 8 to July 10. These Abrahamic faith leaders instituted the Rome Call in February 2020 alongside governments, non-governmental organizations, and leading technology companies. They now bring its important mission to additional world religions at this Conference hosted by Religions for Peace Japan.
The event culminated in the signing of the Rome Call by the signatories—prominent religious and technology leaders from around the world, including executives from Microsoft, Google, and Cisco—in keeping with the collaboration between faith and science that is essential for ethical AI. The conference also featured speakers from academic, religious, and technological disciplines who will discuss the ethics of AI in panels and roundtables.
The Yeshiva University delegation represented Judaism, alongside the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Rabbi Berman led the Yeshiva University delegation, which included Rabbi Meir Soloveichik (Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University), Rabbi Daniel Feldman (Rosh Yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University and Faculty at the Sy Syms School of Business), and Dr. Jeremy Wertheimer (member of the Yeshiva University Academic Committee, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and former Vice President of Engineering at Google). The Chief Rabbinate of Israel's Commission and Yeshiva University emissaries were also honored by the Israeli Embassy in Japan, in an event distinct from the official AI Ethics summit.
"We express our deep gratitude to the conveners of this historic coalition, and especially the Chief Rabbinate's Commission for inviting us and recognizing Yeshiva University leaders as among a cohort of global changemakers," said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University. "The Rome Call is an important mandate born of universal moral principles that transcend faith, nationality, and profession. This new era demands a carefully reasoned moral framework. Fortunately, the Jewish tradition has been debating these questions for millennia, and we will continue to meet modern challenges with Torah values."
"In an increasingly polarized world, plagued by the rising tide of antisemitism and moving so quickly with the rise of AI, it is a powerful statement of unity that the Rome Call signatories call for an international collaboration of faith and industry to achieve an ethical technological future," Rabbi Berman continued.
