OI 2025 Special Guest: Elder Gerrit W. Gong

“…[W]e must be clear, and help society understand, that AI is not and cannot be God. Many talk too glibly about ‘AI becoming God’ or ‘godlike AI’. AI training data is sourced by humans; AI’s moral and ethical principles are only those its creators consciously inject and align. Even if AI training changes or if we achieve AGI (artificial general intelligence) or ASI (artificial super intelligence), we know reasoning — even superhuman reasoning — has limitations. Man is not, and certainly Divinity is not, defined solely by reasoning.” Elder Gerritt W. Gong (address delivered on July 29, 2025, during the Religions for Peace World Council in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye).