NYC Gazette

Yeshiva University President Ari Berman to sign Rome Call for AI ethics at conference in Hiroshima

New York and Hiroshima – July 8, 2024 – Yeshiva University announced today that its President, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, will attend the “AI Ethics for Peace: World Religions commit to the Rome Call” conference this week in Hiroshima, Japan. The event aims to promote an ethical approach to artificial intelligence (AI) that honors human dignity.

The conference is being jointly convened by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Commission for Interreligious Relations, the Pontifical Academy for Life, and the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace from July 8 to July 10. These Abrahamic faith leaders initiated the Rome Call in February 2020 alongside governments, non-governmental organizations, and leading technology companies. The current event seeks to extend this mission to additional world religions.

Prominent religious and technology leaders from around the globe, including executives from Microsoft, Google, and Cisco, will sign the Rome Call during the event. The conference also features discussions on AI ethics by speakers from academic, religious, and technological fields.

Representing Judaism at the event will be a delegation from Yeshiva University led by Rabbi Berman. Other members include Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Rabbi Daniel Feldman, and Dr. Jeremy Wertheimer. The Israeli Embassy in Japan will honor these representatives separately from the official AI Ethics summit.

“We express our deep gratitude to the conveners of this historic coalition,” said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman. “The Rome Call is an important mandate born of universal moral principles that transcend faith, nationality, and profession.”

Rabbi Berman emphasized unity amid global polarization and rising antisemitism: “It is a powerful statement of unity that the Rome Call signatories call for an international collaboration of faith and industry to achieve an ethical technological future.”

About Yeshiva University

Founded in 1886 as a flagship Jewish university animated by five core Torah values—Seek Truth (Torat Emet), Live Your Values (Torat Chaim), Discover Your Potential (Torat Adam), Act With Compassion (Torat Chesed), and Bring Redemption (Torat Tzion)—Yeshiva University integrates Jewish law with Western heritage across its four New York City campuses: Wilf Campus, Israel Henry Beren Campus, Brookdale Center, and Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus. Its undergraduate schools include Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women, and Sy Syms School of Business; graduate schools encompass Albert Einstein College of Medicine among others.