As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, technology companies are asking religious scholars, philosophers and other experts to help answer a difficult question: What should an AI system consider good, fair or harmful? Anthropic, Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft have sought input from faith leaders, according to The Associated Press.
Anthropic broadens AI ethics
Anthropic has made this effort part of its research on the “moral formation” of AI systems. In a May 19, 2026, blog post, the company said it had spoken with scholars, clergy, philosophers and ethicists from more than 15 religious and cross-cultural groups.
Anthropic says it is not trying to make Claude follow one religion. Instead, it wants to compare religious, secular and political viewpoints while examining ideas such as virtue, character and responsible behavior. The company says these discussions may inform Claude’s constitution, training values and safety evaluations.
Faith leaders meet AI developers
The effort extends beyond Anthropic. AP reported that representatives of Meta, Google and Amazon have met with the Vatican, while Microsoft has pursued its own religious outreach.
Anthropic says questions about how AI should behave reach beyond computer science. Its published Claude constitution describes the values and behaviors the company wants its models to follow.
Experts reject one rulebook
Religious studies scholars caution that faith traditions are not simply collections of moral rules that can be combined into one universal guide. AP reported that some experts worry this process could flatten important differences between traditions or favor ideas drawn from Western religious frameworks.
Anthropic says it plans to expand its discussions to legal scholars, psychologists, writers and civic institutions. The company says it will use those conversations to examine how AI systems should develop and apply values.
References
Fauria, K. (2026, October 25). To make AI morally good, tech companies are turning to religion. But some say it isn’t that simple. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/anthropic-moral-artificial-intelligence-religion-2bb91e3334fd6d732edf22288cabf4ec
Anthropic. (2026, May 19). Widening the conversation on frontier AI. https://www.anthropic.com/news/widening-conversation-ai
Anthropic. (2026, January 21). Claude’s constitution. https://www.anthropic.com/constitution