10 October 2024 Strengthening freedom of religion or belief as part of human rights in the age of artificial intelligence

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Excellencies,
Your Eminence,
Members of the German Bundestag,
honored guests,

This morning I was in our parliament. There was a debate on “One year after the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel.” The entire German government was present. The 7th of October marked the first anniversary of this horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel – an event that has had repercussions far beyond the region, with innocent people being killed on all sides, and has further deepened divisions in the international community.

The events of that day and its grave consequences undoubtedly loom large in the minds of all participants of today's conference. So I hope you will understand that I was unable to welcome you first thing this morning. This does not mean that I am not delighted to have you here as our guests. The topic we are addressing today deserves a high level of attention.

Why was it so important to me to invite you to this conference?

Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right.

It is closely intertwined with other human rights such as freedom of opinion. So we need to establish this freedom firmly at the center of the human rights agenda – also in the debate on the design of artificial intelligence.

In this debate, the right to freedom of speech and the right to privacy, for example, play a big role. The human right to freedom of religion or belief has not been given much attention yet. However, we know that human rights are indivisible.

So I am pleased that you are taking the time today to add this aspect to the debate. It is remarkable that we are meeting in a very diverse group.

That makes me confident that it will be possible – even beyond today's conference – to generate more attention for the ways in which artificial intelligence and freedom of religion or belief are linked.

Today, the internet with its AI applications plays an important role for religion and belief. There is a close network of offline and online opportunities to get involved.

Religious people can use apps to help them pray, robots to give them tips for a successful life, and Alexa, the voice assistant, to link them directly to the Church of England – straight from their living rooms.

For many, the internet is the only place where they can practice their religion: for those who have health issues. For those who have to stay at home because of their care responsibilities. And for those who are banned from practicing their religion publicly because they are members of religious minorities.

At the same time, AI sometimes lends dangerous momentum to existing trends.

Allegations of blasphemy and the incitement of mob violence can reach a huge audience online.

More and more governments are using AI for the surveillance of online communication, with the aim of discrediting and prosecuting critics.

One example is Russia, which is using algorithms to search the web for violations of Russian legislation.

This affects, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses. The denomination was banned in Russia in 2017 as an “extremist” organization. And, finally, disinformation that targets susceptible groups can very quickly generate hate against religious communities.

So what needs to be done? How can we, through today's conference, help to strengthen the human right to freedom of religion or belief in the face of new threats? How can we seize the opportunities offered by AI?

We can share our broad range of perspectives in order to discuss answers to fundamental questions. Some of the questions on our agenda are:

How do people's religious and cultural backgrounds influence the design and use of AI?

How can AI be used to bolster freedom of religion or belief and other human rights?

What role does AI play in the context of globally increasing surveillance and repression?

In our discussions, we can identify points which we want to jointly take forward, and ways in which we can network with each other even more closely.

And we can exchange information on specific projects to strengthen human rights in the age of AI – and on ways to develop such projects further so they specifically foster the human right to freedom of religion or belief.

I mean projects such as the Digital Enquirer Kit, which you can explore today at the marketplace.

It helps learners in the partner countries of the German Development Ministry to identify and critically assess disinformation.

It also helps them to develop and use strategies to counter disinformation in their contexts.

The marketplace which we will be offering later is one opportunity for us to inspire each other with such examples.

So is the AI for SDGs Compendium which UNDP and the German Development Ministry just launched at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. Its purpose is to facilitate international exchange on existing initiatives for sustainable AI and to identify gaps that remain.

My mind is still filled with everything I heard and saw at that conference.

I only came back two days ago. My Ministry launched the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, or HSC, this year in cooperation with Michael Otto Foundation and the City of Hamburg.

What are we doing through this format?

We are creating links between all those who are needed to resolve the complex problems of our times: the North and the South, governments, businesses and civil society.

And we are doing this through a long-term effort.

HSC is a process covering several years. It is intended to accelerate the effort to get on track to reach the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

In the field of AI, this means that we have embarked on a journey together with the full range of relevant players to create an informal platform for joint action toward responsible, sustainable AI.

The AI for SDGs Compendium is part of this. Our shared ambition is to ensure equitable access to key digital technologies, including for the countries of the Global South.

They need to be actively involved in shaping these technologies. And digital technology must be used to promote the wellbeing of people and our planet. In other words, we need to prevent the use of technology for the purposes of exploitation, discrimination and surveillance.

With this approach, HSC directly builds on the Global Digital Compact, which was adopted by the United Nations just two weeks ago.

For the first time, the international community commits to foster “safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence”.

And it calls for AI to comply with human rights standards.

With that approach, the Global Digital Compact and HSC have put in place a basis for the issue addressed by our conference: making AI people-centered, including in particular with regard to the human right to freedom of religion or belief.

Kenyan researcher and policy analyst Nanjira Sambuli describes the scope of this task as follows:

“We cannot have digital technologies exacerbating existing inequalities or creating new ones. It remains a difficult, yet necessary task to ensure that human rights and human values drive the design, deployment and governance of these technologies.”

With that I wish us all a fruitful conference.