News by email Donate

Suggestions

Persecution facial recognition picbanner.jpg
Alamy
Persecution facial recognition pic.jpg
Alamy
World News

'Truly Orwellian', US diplomat says regimes are using AI to repress and monitor Christians

by Donna Birrell

The chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has told Premier that artificial intelligence (AI) is being used as a tool to persecute people for their faith.

Professor Stephen Schneck was speaking ahead of the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief which is being held in Berlin this week.

The conference which is held annually in different global cities, is focused this year on how AI is being used by authoritarian regimes to monitor and repress Christians and those of other faiths. Professor Schneck told Premier:

“Some of these new technologies used by countries like Iran and China, create brand new ways for the repression of religion or the control of religion around the world. So it's a very concerning development, and something that we want to keep an eye on.

“In China facial recognition techniques allow the Chinese Communist Party to monitor those who attend religious ceremonies, and so it enables them to track them and to repress them at a level that wasn't available to them before. And similar technologies are available around the world.

“It's truly Orwellian, and it is I fear, the shape of the world to come. So now is the time for us to begin developing mechanisms to respond to it within the faith communities around the world.”

The conference comes as the number of believers being persecuted for their faith around the world continues to rise. The anti-persecution charity Open Doors says in 2023 more than 365 million were suffering for their faith, that’s one in seven Christians worldwide. Professor Schneck added:

“It's a tremendous concern, and something the commission follows closely. Around the world, persecution of religion is spiking for a variety of reasons, for the most part because of rising authoritarianism and maybe a bit of erosion in democracy.

“The truth is that authoritarian governments don't want their citizens to have appeal to any source of right or truth or authority outside the state or outside the party. And so religion, fundamentally, is an inherent challenge to authoritarian regimes.”

 

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate