Jacob Green, a Ph.D. student in media studies at the University of Virginia, will join the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS) this summer as a graduate student intern supporting the organization’s emerging work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, religion, and interfaith engagement.
Green was selected as one of just 10 scholars nationwide for a new initiative from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) supporting graduate internships with organizations helping shape the “Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future.” Funded by Templeton Religion Trust, the program places doctoral students in mission-driven organizations working on questions related to religion, ethics, democracy, and public life, helping scholars apply their academic expertise beyond the university while contributing to real-world civic and cultural challenges.
The internship is part of the broader Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future initiative, which explores how institutions, communities, and emerging forms of public life can support meaning-making, ethical reflection, and democratic engagement in a changing society.
At ICJS, Green will work alongside Heather Miller Rubens, Ph.D., ICJS executive director and Roman Catholic scholar, on the organization’s early exploration of how generative artificial intelligence engages religious difference and interfaith questions. As AI increasingly becomes a place where people seek information, guidance, and conversation about religion, ICJS is beginning to examine how these technologies respond to questions involving religious identity, pluralism, bias, and dialogue across difference.