Interfaith and political leaders gathered at the OI26: Human Flourishing in the Age of AI summit at the Utah State Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, to discuss how people can thrive as artificial intelligence advances. Attendees included members of the Utah House and Senate, academics and professors from several universities, and faith leaders from multiple traditions.
AI and Religion
Zachary Davis, executive director of Faith Matters, moderated a multifaith panel that presented religion as a framework for answering the big questions raised by new technologies. Davis framed religion as an “exciting technology” and said, “Religion is what humans and God have co-created to help us answer those big questions.”
Panelists included the Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen of FaithWise.AI; DZ Kalman, a fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and the author of the Substack “Jello Menorah”; and Father Gregory Telemachus-Stamkopoulos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
The Rev. Edmonds-Allen said AI could extend humanity’s gifts and help achieve goals but warned of harms such as losing cognitive skills and negative effects on relationships. “We are not at the mercy of what may happen next,” she said. “We have agency, we have wisdom, we are blessed by the indescribable uniqueness of our humanity, and we are in charge of our own technology use.” She urged using moral judgment alongside technological tools and to “consider who you might help to take advantage of the technology that surrounds us, but with human wisdom and values firmly in control of that technology.”
Father Telemachus-Stamkopoulos recalled working with early AI decades ago and questioned whether greater intelligence necessarily means greater wisdom. “The ultimate measure of technological progress is not how powerful our machines become but how deeply human our civilization remains,” he said.
DZ Kalman emphasized that religious groups need to engage with technology and global issues if they want to influence AI’s moral framing. “Religious groups, I think, are the key to solving the most important question about AI of all, which is: What is this? What is this morally? Is this a person?” he said.
Public Policy and Protecting Children
Speakers also addressed regulation and public institutions’ roles. Valerie Hudson, a university distinguished professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, proposed an “AI Magna Carta” to set state governance and identify citizens’ inalienable rights before the technology becomes entrenched. “Now, before the future has congealed, is the time for us to make our rights and our demands known, our terms and conditions for AI,” she said.
A separate panel moderated by Jeannie Johnson of UVU’s Center for Anticipatory Intelligence featured Utah state Sen. Todd Weiler, Utah state Sen.-elect Doug Fiefia and Utah state Rep. Veronica Mauga. Weiler urged discussion of ethics and guardrails while cautioning against overreaction: “I don’t think it’s going to destroy humanity as we know it.”
Mauga said policymakers have a duty to protect people and their rights as technology advances, adding that the law must particularly protect children. Fiefia warned that lessons from social media should inform AI policy: “For 15 years, we allowed our kids to be the lab rats of technology that was fighting for their attention. Today, AI is not just fighting for their attention, but they’re fighting for their hearts.” He stressed the importance of encouraging innovation while setting safeguards and transparency requirements, and said AI should be seen as a tool to help people be more effective rather than as a replacement for human roles. “AI will never raise your children,” Fiefia said. “AI will never comfort your neighbor as they’re grieving. They will never stand up in a community and represent them and fight for what they want.”
Conference presentations and discussions covered AI’s intersection with families and relationships, education, work, privacy and human dignity, mental health and social connection, and civic institutions, inviting attendees to consider not only what the technology can do but what purpose its progress should serve.
Speakers at the event included Daniel Cochrane, and photo captions note the conference took place at the Michael O. Leavitt Building at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Nov. 10, 2026.
