New moral challenges were discussed at the meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions

The XXIV meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was held in Astana – the dialogue platform brought together representatives of 20 countries of the world. The forum adopted two international documents: “Ethical code of use of artificial intelligence in the religious sphere” and “The role of religions in the fight against climate change”. Journalist sb.by gathered the views of the meeting participants.

Spiritual diplomacy can play a special role today when the world is so unstable. It is important to unite the potential of religions for building peace, Vice-President of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Secretariat of the Congress Yerlan Karin said:

- Climate change is not only an environmental or economic problem, but also a moral challenge. The adopted international document enshrines the general principles of environmental responsibility and calls on religious communities to educate, solidarity and support the most vulnerable groups and regions. As for the second document, the Code of Ethics is intended to provide a meaningful framework for work between religious leaders, scientists, engineers and technology companies. Many countries see artificial intelligence as a powerful tool for progress, but it is necessary to counter the distortion of religious texts, the creation of digital fakes on behalf of spiritual leaders.

Human rights and respect for human dignity should be at the heart of technological development, said Nihal Saad, Director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations:

- Addressing climate change and artificial intelligence requires governments, civil society, and religious leaders to join forces. There is a need for awareness-raising. Artificial intelligence affects many aspects of our lives. When used wisely, it can help accelerate the development of education, medicine, and support sustainable development. However, confidentiality issues are acute. Ethical aspects should be at the heart of AI design and should not be considered a secondary topic. Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov noted the work of Kazakhstan on the development of interreligious dialogue.

- We managed to protect the platform for meetings of religious leaders from all sorts of non-traditional and destructive currents and ideas. Issues of climate change, artificial intelligence – this is what a lot is said in the modern world. Our task as believers is to understand these processes. We, believers, recognize the existence of the earthly, material and spiritual world, he stressed, adding that when discussing new technologies and global phenomena, it is necessary to determine their real impact on man and society.

The documents adopted at the meeting meet the global challenges of the time, continued Vice-President of the Buddhist Association of China, President of the Buddhist Association of Jiangsu Province Qiu Shuang:

Buddhism believes that human destiny and nature are connected. We need to curb greed, respect nature, to make a difference in climate change. The development of artificial intelligence should be based on respect for life and people.

Conflicts in many regions, wars place great responsibility on religious leaders, the head of the Caucasus Muslim Board, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, emphasized. He called on colleagues to promote peace and friendship between representatives of different countries and faiths

- It is also necessary to prevent all forms of discrimination through the use of international law.

The Secretariat of the Congress intends to prepare the concept of the Global Movement for Peace, its feature should be the unifying role of religious leaders and the power of spiritual diplomacy. Meanwhile, Astana is already working on the next stage of interreligious dialogue: the IX Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions will be held in 2028.

Astana - Minsk.

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