False claim WEF wants to use AI to write new Bible that is 'correct' | Fact check

The claim: The World Economic Forum called for an AI-written Bible to create new, 'actually correct' religions

A June 10 article from Slay News claims the World Economic Forum has called for artificial intelligence to be used for a novel purpose.

“WEF Calls for AI to Rewrite Bible, Create ‘Religions That Are Actually Correct,’” reads the headline.

The article was shared more than 4,000 times on Facebook in two weeks according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool.

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Our rating: False

The article misconstrues comments made by author Yuval Noah Harari, who mentioned the possibility of AI being used to create religious texts in an interview. Harari is not an advisor or employee of the WEF, and the international organization has not endorsed the use of AI to write a new Bible.

Harari warns of risks posed by AI, does not advocate for AI religion

The Slay News article gets several key facts wrong, but chief among the errors is that nobody representing the WEF has advocated for AI-generated holy texts or religions. There are no statements or articles supporting the idea on the WEF’s website and such an endorsement has not been reported by any reliable news source.

"The World Economic Forum never called for AI to rewrite the Bible," said Yann Zopf, a spokesperson for the WEF. "These are false claims to discredit the important work that the World Economic Forum does on serious global challenges."

The article revolves around comments made by Harari, a renowned writer and lecturer in the history department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Slay News labels him a “senior advisor” to the WEF, but Harari never claims to hold a role with the WEF, and Zopf confirmed he is neither an employee of nor an advisor to the organization.

Harari has a biography page on the WEF’s website, but Zopf said any attendee can have one. Harari’s personal website notes that he has spoken at WEF events but does not list any role with the organization.

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Regardless of any ties between Harari and the WEF, he has not endorsed using AI to write a new Bible.

The claim draws primarily from a May 19 interview Harari gave in Lisbon, Portugal. In the interview, Harari discusses the possibility of AI being used to write religious texts. However, he does not advocate for it to happen. He actually warns at one point about the power of AI to "undermine human civilization."

The article seizes on a comment he makes about eight minutes into the interview, when he says, “In a few years there might be religions that are actually correct.”

But the full context of the quote makes clear he was speaking about the notion of a religious text being written by a "non-human entity," not about the ideas and beliefs underpinning a religion.

“Throughout history, religions dreamt about having a book written by a superhuman intelligence, by a non-human entity,” he said in the interview. “Every religion claims our book – ‘Oh, the books of the other religions, they – humans wrote them, but our book? No, no, no, no, it came from some superhuman intelligence. In a few years, there might be religions that are actually correct. That – just think about a religion whose holy book is written by an AI.”

Slay News has repeatedly published fabricated content, including claims debunked by USA TODAY that John Kerry called on farmers to stop growing food to meet "net zero" emissions goals and that a study found artificial sweetener responsible for sudden deaths and heart attacks.

USA TODAY reached out to Slay News for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories and PolitiFact also debunked this claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Yann Zopf, June 26-27, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Yuval Noah Harari (YouTube), June 6, Humanity is not that simple

• World Economic Forum, accessed June 26, Yuval Noah Harari

• Yahav-Harari Group, accessed June 26, About - Yuval Noah Harari

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Article misconstrues author's words about AI and religion | Fact check