Symposium on Digital Justice and AI Accountability underway in Berlin

“How can we shape the development of AI responsibly by using its life-affirming potential and limiting the risks connected with it? I firmly believe that the churches will have to play a decisive role in this endeavour,” said WCC moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm on the symposium’s opening day. 

Over the course of two days, participants from a variety of faith-based organizations and civil society actors will explore different dimensions of the core question of how faith communities can advocate for a future of digital justice in an age marked by the rush towards ever more powerful digital technology and artificial intelligence across all sectors of life.

Presenting in Berlin, Bedford-Strohm said “the global challenge we face can only be met by institutions that are deeply rooted in the local contexts, but at the same time, with a global horizon.”

“Several billion inhabitants of this earth are members of churches and religious communities. There is probably no other group of people who would have a similar potential to encourage the global response to AI that we so urgently need,” he reflected. 

“Human responsibility is nurtured by hope. New technological developments do not represent the path to doom but provide the potential for a life in dignity for every human being and human care for non-human creation,” he said. 

Organized by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC), Evangelische Mission Weltweit - Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany, and Brot für die Welt, the symposium takes place 13-14 April, bringing together 25 invited participants representing key ecumenical networks and partners.

The need for a justice-oriented framework

WACC general secretary Philip Lee welcomed participants noting that, in view of the rapid development of digital technologies, “WACC has called for a justice-oriented framework.”

“Because millions of people are still excluded – not just from digital access, but from meaningful participation in the systems that shape information and knowledge, governance, and power relationships. Civil society, especially in the Global South, is being increasingly silenced,” Lee stressed. 

“We need to rethink our understandings of communication justice, to increase accessibility, affordability, and accountability. Yet such a transformation will not be possible without also confronting the colonial, racist, and sexist legacies embedded in the control of information and knowledge, and in the deployment of digital technologies,” he added. 

Rev. Dr Dagmar Pruin, president of Bread for the World – host venue of the first symposium’s opening day – reflected that the aim of the symposium of developing an advocacy and capacity-building framework for coordinated and collaborative action towards digital justice, is an urgent matter.

“The risk of losing democratic oversight and public control is increasing, thus the need for global coordinated advocacy and ethical guidance,” Pruin reflected.

“I'm very optimistic that this symposium will be successful,” she said, underlining the critical importance of convening such a variety of civil society actors, bringing together global and local perspectives, and amplifying marginalized voices.

Theologian and media professional Corinna Waltz from EMW continued to observe that “digital justice is not only a global issue. It is something we negotiate in our everyday decisions.”

“As faith-based organizations, we approach this with a clear conviction: the digital world is not separate from our moral responsibility – it is part of it,” she said. 

“The role of faith communities is essential,” she underlined: “We can make visible the real-life impacts of digital harm, amplify voices that are often unheard, and bring together actors who would otherwise never meet.”

“The future of AI and digital governance is not predetermined. 
It is being shaped – right now – by those who show up, collaborate, and speak with moral clarity… Let us move forward together – as partners and advocates for a digital future grounded in justice, dignity, and the common good,” Waltz urged. 

A key outcome expected from the symposium is a concrete advocacy and capacity-building framework for coordinated and collaborative action towards digital justice.

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