Artificial intelligence has become an important—and controversial—way that people learn, communicate, and make sense of the world, including questions of religion and faith. ICJS brings an interfaith lens to this emerging technology, examining how AI represents religious traditions, responds to religious difference, and shapes the ways people encounter beliefs and communities beyond their own.
ICJS’ focus is not the technology itself, but its implications for religious understanding and social relationships. Drawing on ICJS scholarship and experience in interfaith learning, we are exploring how AI can reflect the complexity of religious life—and where it may reinforce misunderstanding, bias, or oversimplification.
ICJS wants people who are interfaith curious—from a variety of traditions and standpoints—to find their way to interfaith dialogue and interfaith engagement. That’s a core part of our work and our mission. I think it’s part of our mission to ask: How is AI answering the questions of people who are interfaith curious? If someone turns to AI to find out more about their neighbors’ religious traditions, what kind of answers is AI giving?
As AI increasingly becomes a place where people seek information and guidance about diverse religions, ICJS is asking a timely question: How are AI platforms currently responding to interfaith and interreligious inquiries? A benchmark is a standardized way to measure and evaluate the platforms’ responses to a diverse set of questions about Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
As more people turn to AI with questions about religion, these tools are becoming part of how we encounter religious traditions and religious difference. In this short video, ICJS intern Jacob Green reflects on why that matters—and on some of the same questions driving the ICJS Interfaith Benchmark: What kinds of answers does AI provide about religion, what assumptions shape those answers, and how might AI foster greater understanding rather than reinforce misunderstanding?
Jacob Green, a Ph.D. student in media studies at the University of Virginia, joined the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS) in summer 2026 as a graduate student intern supporting the organization’s emerging work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, religion, and interfaith engagement.