Photo taken after the event.
Doha: Doha Debates hosted a town hall session at Multaqa (Education City Student Center) on Thursday evening to explore the role of religious traditions and moral values in guiding the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
The 90-minute town hall brought global scholars, ethicists, and youth into direct dialogue with transhumanist philosophy, Islamic ethics and Catholic canon law.
The discussion underscored growing apprehension that as AI models develop at remarkable speed, profit-focused systems may lack the ethical safeguards required to uphold human dignity.
Moderated by the Executive Director of the Mozilla Foundation, Nabiha Syed, the event pushed panelists beyond theoretical discussion to examine how moral principles can realistically direct software innovation.
Max More, a strategic philosopher and transhumanism pioneer, championed individual liberty, personal accountability, and unrestricted innovation, asserting that individuals must preserve the capacity to direct technological systems with integrity.
Offering a contrasting perspective, an interdisciplinary scholar focused on AI philosophy. Dr. Yaqub Chaudhary, presented a striking theological comparison to demonstrate the spiritual hazards of AI dependence.
Chaudhary referenced the Quranic account of the Golden Calf, drawing parallels to current fascination with AI. He cautioned that humanity faces the danger of constructing intricate technological systems, only to worship these self-made innovations, relinquishing ethical responsibility to manufactured tools.
Addressing organisational ethics, canon law specialist at the University of Notre Dame Monsignor John Paul Kimes, cautioned against viewing AI as a supreme value. Kimes emphasised that without a human in the center, technological advancement risks losing the humanity for what it is made for.
Framing the broader purpose of the town hall, Doha Debates Managing Director Amjad Atallah highlighted the urgent need to grant young people agency against technological determinism.
"It's very easy nowadays to feel hopeless with the way the world is and with the situation and the technology that's being presented to us as a fait accompli," Atallah said. "Our goal with our Majlis-style debate is to bring students to debate with the most senior experts in a field and to give the students agency. What we want students to walk away with is the knowledge that this future that's happening is theirs to shape."
Atallah noted that while anxiety surrounding rapid AI growth is justified across all generations, youth hold a unique position to steer its momentum. "They actually don't have to just get on the boat; they can actually direct the boat," he emphasised.
Pointing to recent international moves, such as the Vatican issuing an encyclical on AI ethics, Atallah explained the necessity of bringing diverse faith perspectives into the global dialogue.
"We wanted to bring Muslims into the conversation," Atallah noted. "We wanted it to be a conversation with Catholicism, with Islam, with secularism, a conversation together to find out if there's a way that we can all come at this from a morals-based perspective, a values-based perspective, as opposed to simply a utilitarian perspective."
Atallah also highlighted Education City as an ideal setting for such dialogue, calling Qatar's academic ecosystem a unique environment where students from around the world engage directly with global challenges.
