Faith Scholars and AI Experts Build Benchmarks to Measure How Artificial Intelligence Represents Religion

On Thursday, July 2, 2026, the G20 Interfaith Forum will host “AI and Benchmarks,” the third webinar in its eight-part series on AI and Human Flourishing.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT, UNITED STATES, June 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As AI systems increasingly shape how people learn about and discuss faith, a coalition of researchers is building tools to test whether those systems get religion right. On Thursday, July 2, 2026, the G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20) will host “AI and Benchmarks,” the third webinar in its eight-part series on AI and Human Flourishing, bringing together computer scientists and faith-based researchers to examine how rigorous benchmarks can quantify religious bias, negative stereotypes, secularization, and even the omission of faith in AI.

“As AI is shaping society, it is vital to have visibility into the everyday conversations between humans and AI. AI benchmarks provide a mechanism to quantitatively assess multiple ways in which AI may be enhancing—and diminishing—human flourishing,” said David Wingate, one of the webinar’s panelists.

A wide variety of technical tools allow benchmark designers to quantify things like religious bias, negative stereotypes, multilingual consistency, and even the omission of religion in situations where it might reasonably be expected, Wingate notes. Governments, he argues, can support and invest in benchmark design and maintenance as a way to provide actionable insights into AI behavior. Developing academically rigorous benchmarks to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of current AI technology with respect to religion offers a concrete way to work with AI providers to ensure that AI supports religion as an integral part of human flourishing—and that it honors the heritage of the world’s religions and their positive impact on society.

One such effort is the Consortium for the Evaluation of Faith and Ethics in AI (CEFEAI), a pluralistic, multi-university consortium of faith-based research institutions dedicated to ensuring that AI is honest, accurate, and respectful in the way it represents and discusses faith, religion, and ethics. Initial consortium members include Baylor University, Brigham Young University (lead), the University of Notre Dame, and Yeshiva University, with additional representation planned across more religious communities. Participating universities are actively building multiple benchmarks—contributing faith-specific expertise, question design, and evaluation rubrics—and developing shared infrastructure to support standardized benchmarking across traditions.

Such efforts, Wingate emphasizes, need not be aimed at proselytizing, adjudicating contested truth, harmonizing intra-faith differences, or resolving theological disputes. Rather, the intent is to carefully measure bias, negative stereotypes, secularization, and other emergent phenomena in AI, with the ultimate goal of creating an ongoing, multi-faith benchmark that serves as a gold-standard assessment against which the community can gauge the progress of large language model safety and truthfulness in religious contexts.

AI benchmarks are essential tools for evaluating whether artificial intelligence systems behave safely, fairly, and effectively in real-world contexts. The best benchmarks go beyond technical accuracy to measure qualities like robustness, transparency, and alignment with human values. As AI grows more powerful, researchers are increasingly calling for pluralistic, community-grounded benchmarks that reflect diverse cultural, ethical, and social perspectives—not just narrow technical metrics—to keep AI development accountable and supportive of human flourishing rather than diminishing it.

“AI and Benchmarks” will take place virtually on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 12:00 PM EDT. Register for the free webinar at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oSp0FMD8Rfm5GfznAWutrg#/registration.

Speakers will include:

• David Wingate — Professor of Computer Science at Brigham Young University, where he works at the intersection of machine learning and social science. His research leverages large-scale language models to address pressing social problems such as racism, conspiracy thinking, opinion manipulation, and political polarization. He earned his BS and MS in computer science from Brigham Young University (2002 and 2004) and his PhD in computer science from the University of Michigan (2008), and was a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at MIT from 2008 to 2010.

• Michael Graham — Program Director of the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics at The Gospel Coalition, the largest evangelical website in the world. He is the founder of the AI Christian Benchmark and co-founder of Religion Data. Previously, he served for a decade as Executive Pastor at Orlando Grace Church and as CFO for Allogy, a mobile software company. His work lives at the intersection of missiology, technology, operations, and religious data.

• Marianna Richardson (Moderator) — Director of Communications for the G20 Interfaith Forum and adjunct professor of management communication at the BYU Marriott School of Business, where she is editor-in-chief of the Marriott Student Review and faculty advisor for the Measuring Success Right podcast. She serves on the International Advisory Council for the International Center for Law and Religious Studies. She holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate from Seattle Pacific University.

About the G20 Interfaith Forum
The G20 Interfaith Forum seeks global solutions by collaborating with religious thought leaders and political representatives to help shape the overall G20 agenda. It draws on the vital roles that religious institutions and beliefs play in world affairs, reflecting a rich diversity of institutions, ideas, and values. Through its extensive network of networks, it helps prioritize key global policy goals and point toward practical means of implementation at every level of society. IAMC is a co-sponsor of the event.

For more information, please visit www.g20interfaith.org.

Marianna E Richardson
G20 Interfaith Forum
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