Faith leaders

Pinchas Goldschmidt

President of the Conference of European Rabbis; former Chief Rabbi of Moscow

2 records

Portrait source: Esteehindy, Public domain

Records

We are perhaps sleepwalking into an algorithmic future we barely understand.

Pinchas Goldschmidt

President of the Conference of European Rabbis; former Chief Rabbi of Moscow

In a 2025 op-ed, Pinchas Goldschmidt wrote that people may be sleepwalking into an algorithmic future they barely understand.

President of the Conference of European RabbisPublished May 20, 2025 · date of remarks not establishedJNS

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Surrounding words

U.S. politics is embroiled in issues, and the U.K. Parliament is deep in debate regarding AI’s use of copyrighted material, particularly by big tech firms. AI is reshaping our lives . We are perhaps sleepwalking into an algorithmic future we barely understand. Is there a Jewish perspective on this? Some contemporary Jewish scholars have noted the danger of losing the power to write, of inner effort and self-expression.

What this quote does not say

Later in the op-ed, Goldschmidt wrote that humankind need not be afraid, that AI can greatly benefit work and society, and that people should use it while preserving human agency.

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But still, humankind does not need to be afraid. We should, of course, maintain our agency, decision-making and brains.

Pinchas Goldschmidt

President of the Conference of European Rabbis; former Chief Rabbi of Moscow

In a 2025 op-ed, Pinchas Goldschmidt wrote that humankind need not fear AI but should preserve its own agency and decision-making.

President of the Conference of European RabbisPublished May 20, 2025 · date of remarks not establishedJNS

Source

Context and checks

Surrounding words

I am in favor of banning smartphones in schools, as governments are increasingly recognizing, and as Orthodox Jewish communities the world over have always understood. Professor Jonathan Haidt, for decades, has advocated this. But still, humankind does not need to be afraid. We should, of course, maintain our agency, decision-making and brains. As the Lithuanian rabbis of previous generations were wont to remark: “The Torah’s first mitzvah is to think!” Torah study and Jewish legal decisions should remain in our hands and heads.

What this quote does not say

Earlier in the same op-ed, Goldschmidt wrote that people may be sleepwalking into an algorithmic future they barely understand and said AI was eroding agency and independent thought.

How this was checked

Quote matched character-for-character against the captured page.

Reviewed by

an AI reviewer that read the whole source · an automatic character-by-character check