This two-day conference, held on the 16th and 17th of November 2026, will be a further exploration of the questions of ethics and faith building on the University of Bath ART-AI research centre’s highly successful workshops co-organised by Dr Charles Larkin and the Revd Dr Malcolm Brown at Lambeth Palace Library (June 2024) and Lambeth Palace (January 2026), focusing on theological insights into questions arising in AI ethics.
Following the strong interest and engagement from participants at the 2024 and 2026 workshops, the organisers were encouraged by the openness of AI practitioners, theologians and practitioners to theological perspectives, recognising that the ethical implications of their work benefit from serious engagement with pre-modern traditions of thought. The goal of the events was to take a deeper dive, bringing together those of different faiths or no faith and AI practitioners to examine the question of how does one go from moral leadership to action in the AI space.
The objective of this conference is to contribute to developing a human-centric approach to AI through behaviours, codes of practice and implementable policy frameworks, based on insights from faith traditions.
Day 1: On the first day, we will engage in a series of presentations related to Magnifica Humanitas, the May 2026 encyclical by Pope Leo XIV on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. A series of speakers from theological, philosophical, technological, legal and policymaking communities will discuss the theoretical and practical implications of Magnifica Humanitas for their respective domains.
Day 2: In January 2026, our workshop expanded to perspectives from Judaism and Islam alongside those of the Christian churches. The second day will be a continuation of this work by including other faith traditions and workshopping a policy brief. The powerful faith-based statement on the future of the human person and artificial intelligence presented in Magnifica Humanitas provides an important watershed and focal point for these different traditions to dialogue.
Conference Deliverable:
‘What is needed from faith communities to create technologically literate citizens with agency?’ The second day will workshop a policy brief (with recommendations for delivery) in alignment with the G20 Interfaith20 2026 recommendations and the UK’s Roadmap for Modern Digital Government.
Register Here
Registration deadline: Friday 30th October 2026, 12 noon.
Programme TBC
Speakers
Ramon Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College and currently Academic Lead within the faculty
Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford at Church of England – Diocese of Oxford
John Cornwell, Jesus College, Cantab
Dr Rachel Free, European & UK Patent Attorney, Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), Partner at CMS CMNO
Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour, Imam of Bath Mosque and a research fellow at the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford
Husna Siddiqi, Executive Director, Head of Tech Assurance Management at KPMGI, Chair, Ethical AI Independent Advisory Board, University of Bath, Co-Founder, Cryptogals
Aisha Y. Musa, Harvard (Online)
Joseph Laracy, Seton Hall University (Online)
