Global Dialogues

The threats facing my generation certainly have a global impact. Generative AI meets the climate crisis in pollution from data centers, rising through our common atmosphere and accelerating climate change for all of humanity across the globe. But data centers in rural India hurt local populations more than those living in Silicon Valley. It is tempting to see global impact as universal, but by doing so we make a grave mistake: we leave out the Global South, which is in many ways most vulnerable to these emerging threats. Instead, the international community must consider both the collective and the particular when assessing the dangers of our time.

How, then, can the international community, with its vast differences in goals and customs, begin to address the collective and the particular in an issue like generative AI? Ever the proponent of interfaith dialogue, I suggest common values on the foundation of faith or a belief in justice. My chosen example of that common value may surprise you: they are the Beatitudes in the New Testament.

Unlike the Ten Commandments, which require monotheism and command worship of the God of Abraham, anyone can follow the spirit of the Beatitudes. Though often manipulated by Christians, they are not prescriptive or condescending in their original form. They simply serve as voluntary invitations for the imitatio Christi, or the imitation of Christ in Christians’ lives. For others, the biblical poem can serve as a meaningful call to justice for the collective and the particular. The Beatitudes urge us all to hunger and thirst for righteousness, or justice for all; they tell us the meek will inherit the earth, but do not condone quiet submission, instead praising those who are peacemakers.

When we discuss generative AI, let us with hunger and thirst condemn and confront the particular: the commodification of women’s bodies. As peacemakers, let us also consider the use of generative AI in identifying human trafficking routes, lest we allow such crimes to continue to fester in our societies. Instead of seeking to pad our resumes, let us take on initiatives out of a desire to serve the common good. For myself and many others, that is God. But the values of justice transcend the institutions of religion. They call upon all of us to serve the most vulnerable. No matter our beliefs, let us be proud peacemakers, grounded in our own faiths or values, and united by a vested interest in the collective and the particular.

Colleen Schweninger (SFS'28) is a sophomore in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.