AI is reshaping how we work, write, think and relate to one another, forcing us to ask what it means to be human – and where civilisation is headed. Can Judaism offer more than commentary? Can it provide ethical insight, philosophical clarity and practical guidance? And could this encounter change the way we think about religion?
Taught by AI and ethics experts Rabbi Dr Harris Bor and Dr Marina Zilbergerts, this course offers a combination of short talks, hands-on source study, and open discussion to explore the four questions below at the heart of the AI moment.
The Forum for Jewish Ethics in Technology (FJET), led by Rabbi Dr Harris Bor, is an international forum hosted by LSJS, which brings together scholars and academics from multiple disciplines, industry specialists, and the broader community to explore Judaism’s rich ethical legacy and contribute meaningfully to the global conversation on technologies emerging from the artificial intelligence revolution. To find out more about their work click here.
Session 1: What makes us intelligent?
What makes human intelligence distinct from machine or animal cognition? Jewish sources have long grappled with what it means to think and to know. What do they offer us now, and how do we cultivate that intelligence in a technological age?
Session 2: What happens to freedom when machines choose for us?
Rousseau, the French philosopher, wrote that “man is born free but everywhere in chains”. As machines do more of our thinking and choosing for us, what happens to our freedom, and how do we hold onto responsibility?
Session 3: What remains of human worth?
If AI can out-write, out-diagnose, and out-strategise us, what remains of human worth? Judaism roots dignity not in performance or capability but in Tzelem Elokim, the idea that every person bears the image of God. This session asks what that concept actually means, and whether it can hold steady as machines match or exceed us at tasks we once thought were distinctly ours.
Session 4: How should Jews live with AI?
The final session turns inward: how will AI reshape Jewish education, halachic decision-making, pastoral care, and communal life? Are AI chavrutot and robot rabbis on the horizon? Does Shabbat offer a natural buffer?
No prior background in philosophy or technology required, just curiosity about the biggest questions of our time.
Course price: £60