Anthropic, OpenAI execs meet Hindu and Sikh religious leaders as they try to make ethical AI

Anthropic and OpenAI executives reportedly met Hindu and Sikh religious leaders in New York as part of a roundtable to discuss how to instil moral values in AI. Here is what happened.

In Short

• Anthropic, OpenAI executives meet religious leaders in New York
• Hindu and Sikh leaders part of the discussion
• The meeting was centred on moral values for AI

AI can do a lot of things by itself. It can write code, or do complex calculations. But what AI still can’t do is understand what is right or wrong. And for that, the companies that make AI, such as Anthropic or OpenAI, are tasked to train their models in such a manner that they understand moral values. Now, as per a report, executives from Anthropic and OpenAI have met leaders from different religious groups, including Hindu and Sikh leaders, to discuss how to instill values and morals into AI.

As per a report from Associated Press, key executives from the two AI companies met religious leaders in New York last week at the inaugural “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable.

This comes at a time when there are growing concerns over how ethical AI could be in the future as we push towards the goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI) – a state where AI can think like humans.

Which religious leaders discussed AI ethics?

The meeting was attended by leaders from various religions, including 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, aka the Mormon church.

It was organised by the Geneva-based Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, which works on issues such as extremism, radicalisation and human trafficking. As per the report, this was not a one-off meeting. Rather, there could be plans for similar discussions in Beijing, Nairobi and Abu Dhabi.

Do note that Silicon Valley has usually distanced itself from organised religion, at least when it comes to policies around its technology. However, it seems that now companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are looking towards religious groups to understand how they can create ethical AI.

What was discussed?

The report indicates that the meeting was focused on how religious leaders can help shape the morals of AI models in the future, something that may not be possible with just regulation.

Baroness Joanna Shields, who was part of the initiative, told AP, “This direct connection is so important because the people who are building this understand the power and capabilities of what they’re building and they want to do it right — most of them.” Shields has previously held executive roles at Google and Facebook.

She said the initiative was aimed at eventually creating a set of norms or principles, informed by different faiths and groups, including Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists, that companies would follow.

Critics argue that the discussions about morality and AI may have one challenge – different religious groups have different values, which may make it difficult to set common principles.

What’s the current state of morals for AI?

At the moment, there has been a shift when it comes to shaping principles for AI. Anthropic and Google DeepMind have hired philosophers who are dedicated to teaching AI values.

In March this year, as per the Washington Post, Anthropic met 15 Christian leaders in San Francisco to discuss Claude’s moral and spiritual compass. The Dario Amodei-led firm often talked about values for AI.

In its public “Claude Constitution” for its chatbot, the company states, “We want Claude to do what a deeply and skillfully ethical person would do in Claude’s position.” Anthropic has stated that the constitution was developed with the help of religious and ethics leaders.

What have religious leaders said about AI?

Even before this outreach from technology companies, some religious groups had issued their own guidance on AI. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given a qualified approval of the technology in its handbook, saying, “AI cannot replace the gift of divine inspiration or the individual work required to receive it.” The Church adds, “However, AI can be a useful tool to enhance learning and teaching.”

In 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution saying, “We must proactively engage and shape these emerging technologies rather than simply respond to the challenges of AI and other emerging technologies after they have already affected our churches and communities.”

While it appears that we can expect more of such crossovers between the world of technology and religion when it comes to the moral compass of AI, It remains unclear how far these discussions will translate into action, and what that action would look like.

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