MORAL COMPASS INSTITUTE
Faith Leadership for the Age of Artificial Intelligence

WHY THIS MATTERS

Something is converging. Across philosophy, evolutionary science, cross-cultural psychology, and neuroscience, researchers have arrived at a shared finding: humanity possesses a moral architecture that is real, empirically detectable, and universal in structure — even when its expression differs profoundly across cultures and traditions. At the same time, artificial intelligence is being built at extraordinary speed — reshaping how we learn, worship, communicate, govern, and care for one another — largely without reference to this moral depth.

Faith leaders are already facing urgent questions:

• What are the best uses of AI for faith applications?

• How do we protect children from AI harms?

• How do we discern deepfakes and deception?

• What does human dignity mean in a world of intelligent machines?

• How should faith communities respond to job displacement and automation?

• Where is moral responsibility located in AI systems?

• What can the moral wisdom of faith traditions contribute to AI governance?

Technology is accelerating. Faith communities have something the AI world needs: the depth of human moral formation. The Moral Compass Institute equips faith leaders to bring that depth to the table.

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WHAT PARTICIPANTS GAIN

The Institute offers an intensive, day-long formation experience grounded in technical literacy, ethical discernment, and the emerging science of human moral architecture.

Participants leave with:

A Working Understanding of Generative AI

• How large language models are trained

• Why AI is probabilistic, not deterministic

• What "hallucinations" really are

• How alignment and human feedback shape model behavior

• How hidden system prompts influence output

• What agentic AI systems can now do

A Moral Framework for Discernment

Participants develop and apply their own Personal Moral Compass — a layered formation instrument that captures their tradition, their deepest commitments, their accountability structures, and their sense of vocation. The Personal Moral Compass asks:

• Does this enhance or diminish human dignity?

• Does this strengthen or weaken human relationships?

• Who benefits? Who may be harmed?

• Is there transparency about AI involvement?

• Does this promote truth or enable deception?

• What would be lost if we chose not to use AI here?

The goal is not prohibition. The goal is faithful wisdom — grounded in the participant's own tradition, tested against their own convictions, and accountable to the communities they serve.

A Contribution to Something Larger

Each participant's formation is unique and irreplaceable.
Through the Personal Moral Compass, participants articulate what their tradition contributes to six questions every faith tradition answers: on flourishing, formation, dignity, accountability, the common good, and the sacred in practical life.

With opt-in consent, anonymized contributions join a growing global dataset: the first formation-sourced, tradition-specific picture of what humanity actually values, articulated from the inside of real traditions.
This is data that no AI company currently has - and it may be the missing piece in the AI alignment conversation.

An Understanding of What AI Cannot Do

In the Institute's signature exercise — "The AI in the Room" — participants complete their own Personal Moral Compass and then watch an AI system attempt the same instrument in real time. The comparison is revealing: where the AI is fluent, where it hedges, where it goes hollow. Participants leave with firsthand evidence of what is irreplaceably human in moral agency — and with language they can bring back to their communities.

The Institute does not impose a single moral framework. Participants engage from within their own traditions, convictions, and integrity. The work is to articulate and strengthen their own moral commitments — their own "soulgorithm" — and to put those commitments into practice for the good of their communities and the wider world.

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THE PROMISE AND THE PERIL

 We address both the opportunities and the risks of AI:

Promise

• Accessibility and translation tools

• Educational and research support

• Administrative efficiency in ministry

• Creative tools for teaching and worship

Peril

• Deepfakes and synthetic media

• Voice-cloning scams

• Child safety risks

• Algorithmic bias

• Erosion of shared truth

• Surveillance and concentration of power

• Economic displacement

• Spiritual formation in an AI-saturated culture

Leaders engage real pastoral scenarios and leave equipped to guide congregants through complex, emerging realities.

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THE DEEPER OPPORTUNITY

 The AI governance conversation is stuck. Those who urge extreme caution value precaution and responsibility to future generations. Those who urge rapid development value progress and the alleviation of suffering through innovation. Both are motivated by genuine concern for humanity's future. They see different risks as primary — and the conversation has become entrenched.

Faith leaders bring something this conversation urgently needs: centuries of practice in navigating genuine differences without requiring uniformity. The same formation process that helps a room full of clergy from different traditions find common ground can help the AI governance world move beyond its current impasse. The Moral Compass Institute equips faith leaders not only to navigate AI within their own communities but to contribute the moral depth of their traditions to the broader public conversation about what kind of future we are building.

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GLOBAL AND MULTIFAITH BY DESIGN

 The Moral Compass Institute is guided by an independent, multifaith advisory committee representing major world religions, theologians, technologists, and community leaders across continents.

Our 2026-2027 regional trainings include partnerships with:

• Harvard Neurospirituality Lab (Boston)

• Brigham Young University (Salt Lake City)

• Yeshiva University (New York)

• University of Notre Dame (South Bend)

• Baylor University (Houston)

• Pontifical Universities (Rome)

• Korean faith institutions (Seoul)

• Latino Evangelical networks (Orlando)

Every training welcomes participants from all traditions.

Graduates join an international alumni network with ongoing convenings, policy integration opportunities, advanced media training, and digital credentialing.

This is not a one-day event. It is the beginning of a global leadership network.

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LEADERSHIP

The Moral Compass Institute is led by:

Rev. Dr. Marian Edmonds-Allen, Senior Advisor, Moral Compass, American Security Foundation , The Neurospirituality Lab

 Monsignor John Kimes, University of Notre Dame, Senior Advisor, Moral Compass, American Security Foundation 

Jonathan Barry, Mila — Quebec AI Institute

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WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE

• Senior clergy and denominational leaders

• Faith-based educators and chaplains

• Interfaith network leaders

• Seminary and university faculty

• Faith-based organizational executives

• AI governance and alignment professionals seeking faith-informed perspectives

 
Participants engage from within their own convictions and traditions — contributing the depth of their faith to a shared global conversation.

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CERTIFICATION AND ONGOING ENGAGEMENT

Participants complete:

• Hands-on learning and formation experiences

• The Personal Moral Compass — a formation instrument they keep, revise, and use

• Applied discernment exercises

• "The AI in the Room" diagnostic comparison

• Pre/post assessment tools

• Credentialing

Select graduates receive advanced media training and may serve as public-facing faith leaders contributing to national and international conversations on AI governance.

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JOIN THE INITIATIVE

We are currently building our 2026 global training cohort and advisory network.

We invite you to connect. Together, we can ensure that human dignity, moral agency, and the depth of human moral formation remain central in the age of artificial intelligence.

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The Institute respects theological diversity and moral agency. Participants develop frameworks grounded in their own traditions and ethical commitments. Our role is not to prescribe conclusions, but to equip leaders to bring the full depth of their formation to the most consequential questions of our time.

marian@faithwise.ai