Elder Gong proposes AI benchmark for moral reasoning at Salt Lake City forum

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Saturday for a new way to test AI models on moral reasoning, the Deseret News reported. ^[1]

Speaking in a keynote at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Salt Lake City, Gong proposed "Humanity's First Exam," which he described as "an AI benchmark to evaluate and promote AI that is demonstrably trustworthy and safely anchored in and guided by human-centric values and moral compass." He said, "AI will not fulfill its full potential until we make it as morally good as we make it powerful." ^[1]

Gong said AI models still show religious bias and omit faith-based perspectives on life questions. He is involved in the Consortium for Evaluating Faith and Ethics in AI, which includes faculty at Baylor, BYU, Notre Dame, Pepperdine, Thessaloniki Aristotle and Yeshiva. Researchers said first studies found systematic religious bias. ^[1] The Church's newsroom release describes the consortium, known as CEFE-AI, as a collaboration involving six universities, and the text of his remarks says its intent is not to make AI overtly religious or to privilege one faith. ^[2][3]

Gong said the consortium does not seek to make AI overtly religious or to favor one faith. He said the church does not fear AI, uses it for humanitarian, educational and translation work, and advises members to use it to enhance human effort, not replace it. He also said AI is "math and math is not conscious or alive." ^[1]