Digital justice symposium closes with joint commitment to action

The symposium brought together 25 invited participants representing key ecumenical networks and partners over two days in Berlin, Germany, organized by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC), Evangelische Mission Weltweit - Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany, and Brot für die Welt.

In focus as participants gathered for closing deliberations at the historic Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche on Tuesday: the task of consolidating partnerships and collaboration, and identifying individual as well as and institutional strengths and opportunities for advocacy towards digital justice and AI accountability. 

‘Speaking out in the strongest possible terms’

The development of advocacy commitments came following updates on technological developments and assessment of the governance landscape on the first day.

In his presentation, William Jones, an associate of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute (FLI), underscored that the development of digital technologies should actually benefit all of humanity, and pointed to the lack of accountability in a few major tech companies currently pushing the development of AI solutions without broad consultation with the general public.

“When the CEO of a big tech company says that a certain development will happen and is in fact inevitable, what they are really saying is that for them, that particular development is expected to be profitable,” he said.

“My work at FLI focuses on trying to support religious leaders to speak into these issues because we feel that in Silicon Valley there's a real absence of moral wisdom,” Jones added. 

Looking at the group gathered in Berlin, he continued: “One of the things that's really great about coming into work with institutions like the WCC and WACC and these other groups that are present here is that they do have that broader representation.” 

“You're not just hearing a kind of blind hype, but instead people who are thinking about the moral questions, about the real serious ethical problems and the deeper spiritual questions as well. Do we want to create AI systems that are more intelligent and autonomous than humans? Most people would say no. That voice needs to be heard and those points need to be made in the strongest possible terms by religious leaders,” Jones said.

Mobilizing engagement around core questions 

A strength of the group gathered in Berlin was the diversity of networks and partners present, and the opportunities identified for advocacy engagement for digital justice and AI accountability in both short and long-term. 

A key focus of discussions revolved around questions of lack of transparency and accountability in the current stage of global AI development, and more particularly, the question of what was dubbed at the meeting “the right to know”.

As phrased during the closing day, participants committed to begin to raise a core set of fundamental questions – in whatever places or spaces they are each currently at – in order to help orient conversations about AI and digital justice as it’s being experienced and developed around the globe: 'Who benefits?’ ‘Who knows?’ and ‘Who controls?'  

As Serena Tiburtini, World Student Christian Federation-Europe’s regional secretary and global programme coordinator for youth, security, and peacebuilding, reflected: ”Digital justice is much more complex than the term can just suggest, because it's not just about using AI responsibly as it is. It is also about shaping the structures that will make it just and responsible for all.”

Advocacy, education and networking

In the closing session, conversations zeroed in on three action areas for digital justice and AI accountability: advocacy in international and national spaces; building critical thinking through existing and new educational resources and methodologies; and ensuring continued cross-sectoral networking.

Participants observed the importance of lifting up voices often unheard, of standing up as representatives of faith communities to provide a moral guiding voice, but also of moving into concrete advocacy and action before the issues at hand are beyond control. 

Annika Lindé of ACT Church of Sweden underlined the opportunity to draw on knowledge and experiences gathered through other civil society engagement in similar or adjacent fields such as climate justice advocacy, or gender justice methodologies. 

At the same time, observed Emy Osorio Matorel – an advisor for digital analysis and strategy at CAMECO – it is also important to value more deeply the small acts taken already by agencies and communities around the globe. 

“We often want to go to the United Nations and in one step try to change the world, but even in the absence of that, there is so much that we can do in our spaces and communities,” she noted.

WCC moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm observed in closing that we are challenged to act with urgency. 

“The speediness of these developments,” Bedford-Strohm reflected, “are such that we cannot simply think we will take another two years to reflect and then come up with something. I believe we all agree this is so important and so urgent, that we need to be much, much faster, and I do hope we can be successful in this.” 

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