Joanna Shields

Today in the @UKHouseofLords, I spoke during the King’s Speech debate on foreign affairs, international relations and defence about the growing geopolitical significance of artificial intelligence. AI is rapidly becoming foundational infrastructure — shaping economies, state power, public knowledge and democratic sovereignty itself. The central question is whether democratic nations will help shape this transition together, or inherit systems designed elsewhere according to values they did not define. Capability and influence are concentrating at extraordinary speed. Middle powers cannot afford to remain fragmented. Artificial intelligence is now a defining question of sovereignty.

“Artificial intelligence” did not appear once in today’s King’s Speech. This is a strategic failure at the worst possible moment. To speak about energy security, defence, public services, child safety, cyber threats — and be silent on the technology reshaping them is an abdication of responsibility.

My dear friend and partner in the Faith-AI Covenant Project, Dana Humaid Al Marzouqi, and I come from different cultures, different professional backgrounds, and different faiths. But we share a deep conviction that humanity is approaching a turning point with no historical precedent. AI is entering the domain of meaning, belief, and moral formation. People are turning to AI companions for emotional support, spiritual guidance, and even moral validation. These systems are no longer simply tools for information retrieval; they are beginning to shape identity, relationships, and worldview. The builders of these systems possess extraordinary technical capability but faith traditions uniquely carry moral authority forged through thousands of years of wrestling with the deepest human questions: What makes a good life? What do we owe each another? What must never be optimised away? Our new piece in @ProSyn illustrates that these perspectives could be integrated into AI design from the beginning. That conviction is what led us to build the Faith-AI Covenant together. project-syndicate.org/commentary/tea…

When AI and faith leaders sit down together to discuss shared principles for AI, it’s significant. Next stops: Paris and Nairobi. Thank you @Krysta_Fauria at @AP for your article on the first Faith-AI Covenant initiative roundtable. Read: tinyurl.com/msnpc4v4

Will AI shape belief — or will belief shape AI? Faith & AI joined together last week in New York at the first of 7 global roundtables to build a Faith–AI Covenant as the most consequential infrastructure in human history gets built. 🔗tinyurl.com/3nr8m3nb

Read more on the Okta 2026 Identity 25 ➡️ okta.com/resources/data… Read more about the OpenAge Initiative ➡️ openageinitiative.org

Thankful to @okta for shining a light on this work, and proud to stand alongside this year’s honourees - including featuring on Okta's promotion in New York's Times Square today!

“I believe it’s time to solve for age online once and for all. The technology exists — what’s been missing is the will to align around trusted, shared infrastructure.” Honoured to be recognised as one of @okta's 2026 Identity 25. ✨

The families carrying grief that never should have been theirs — who turned devastation into determination. They changed the world. We owe them everything. ❤️

But none of this would have happened without the people we must honour above all others. The survivors who came forward. The young people who told the truth in courtrooms. 🧵

This week marks a seismic shift in the fight to protect children online — one that history will record as a turning point. 🧵