Faith leaders and AI experts launch summer webinar series on human flourishing

The G20 Interfaith Forum and the International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation are launching an eight-part summer webinar series on AI, starting June 18 in New York with a session on faith and technology. The program aims to examine how artificial intelligence affects dignity, ethics and human responsibility as religious leaders and technologists weigh its risks and benefits.

Why it matters: - The series puts religious leaders and AI experts in the same room to debate how artificial intelligence should serve human dignity, moral responsibility and compassion. - Organizers are framing AI as a question of ethics and spirituality, not just engineering or productivity. - The discussions could shape how faith communities respond to AI’s growing role in work, relationships and decision-making.

What happened: - The G20 Interfaith Forum and the International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation are launching an eight-part summer webinar series titled “AI and Human Flourishing.” - The first session, “AI and Faith,” is set for Thursday, June 18, 2026, at noon EDT. - The webinar series is free and runs throughout the summer. - The opening session will bring together technologists and scholars from multiple religious traditions. - Attendees can register for the series through the registration page.

The details: - The series will explore ethical, spiritual, environmental and societal questions raised by artificial intelligence. - Organizers say the effort is meant to examine what AI means for human dignity, purpose and moral responsibility. - The event description says many religious traditions view AI as a tool that can benefit society while also raising concerns about justice, identity and the limits of machine reasoning. - The series is being positioned as a way to keep AI grounded in human moral agency, empathy and spiritual insight. - The first session is expected to focus on the intersection of AI and faith across religious traditions. - Audrey E. Kitagawa, J.D., will moderate the opening webinar. - Kitagawa is founder and president of IAMC and chair of the G20 Interfaith Forum Anti-Racism Initiative. - Will Jones will speak as associate of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute and lead of its religions initiative. - Jones said frontier AI companies are racing to replace humans in work, relationships and decision-making, and religious leaders are important in pushing for a better path for humanity. - Dr. DZ Kalman will also speak; he hosts Belief in the Future and works at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. - Kalman leads a research team on AI and Judaism at the Shalom Hartman Institute and serves as a senior advisor at Sinai and Synapses. - Chris Scammell will speak as co-founder of the Buddhism & AI Initiative. - Scammell said the pace of AI development and the concentration of power around the technology are spiritual issues that deserve guidance from wisdom traditions. - Scammell said Buddhism views AI as a technology of mind that can shape, and threaten, human attention and intention.

Between the lines: - The series reflects a broader effort among faith communities to claim a role in AI governance before technical systems become more deeply embedded in daily life. - The framing suggests religious leaders want to move the AI debate beyond efficiency and innovation toward questions of meaning, limits and human agency. - The lineup also shows that the conversation is not limited to one tradition; it spans Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and interfaith policy networks.

What’s next: - The June 18 webinar will open the broader summer series. - Seven more sessions are expected to follow over the summer. - Organizers say the remaining webinars will continue examining AI through ethical, spiritual and societal lenses. - More information is available through the series registration page.

The bottom line: - The launch signals a growing push by religious leaders to help define the moral boundaries of AI as the technology advances.