Tech thought leader Glen Weyl recently won a prestigious prize — the International Religious Freedom Peace Builders Award — just as he shifts the focus of his work toward one of the most compelling intersections in tech: faith, values and governance in the age of artificial intelligence.

For decades, Glen has been at the vanguard of thinking how new technologies like Web 3, metaverse platforms and generative AI might reshape society. 

His roots — a PhD in economics from Princeton, significant work as a professor at the University of Chicago, and the founding of organizations such as the RadicalxChange Foundation and the Plurality Institute — speak to a rare blend of rigorous theory and practical social architecture. 

What makes Glen’s next phase so unique is his emerging leadership of the initiative at Microsoft Research titled Technology for Religious Empowerment, where the research agenda is built around enabling religious individuals and communities to thrive in the digital age.

Here’s why this matters, and why 2026 is poised to be an important year for Glen and for the broader field:

• Religious Communities: an underserved dimension of AI and society

Most discussions about AI focus on efficiency, bias, regulation, or labor disruption. But less frequently addressed is how emerging technology interfaces with religious communities — their beliefs, practices, moral frameworks, and social infrastructure. 

The agenda Glen is leading specifically addresses: 

• collaborating with religious communities to co-design tools
• adapting mainstream offerings so they serve religious needs
• mapping perceptions among faith stakeholders
• building standards for the tech-religion intersection. 

•  Bringing pluralism, democracy and values into the tech era

Glen’s work has long championed pluralism, inclusive governance, and democratized power. As he puts it, technology need not undermine our values — it can advance them. 

Now that agenda extends explicitly to faith communities. That means: 

• designing systems that respect belief
• facilitate dialogue
• give voice to diverse traditions
• avoid the tendency for AI platforms to flatten or exclude religious viewpoints.

• A transformative moment — and your role in promoting it

With the prize recognition now in hand, Glen’s platform will expand. 

His new focus area is positioned for both academic and public impact: from skunk-works prototypes to platform integrations, from policy conversations to community outreach. 

This is where you come in. By elevating Glen’s voice in 2026 — sharing his research, speaking engagements, media appearances — you’re helping amplify a dimension of AI that seldom gets center stage.

• What’s ahead

In the coming year, expect to see:

• Thought-leadership pieces from Glen on how digital tools can strengthen faith-based community life and pluralistic dialogue.
  
• Collaborations or pilot projects between Microsoft Research and religious organizations (interfaith, global, underserved) to test new technologies in context.
  
• Events or talks where Glen frames “democratic tech” not only in economic or political terms, but spiritual and communal ones.
  
• Media coverage of the prize and its significance for the field of AI,  religion, and pluralism.

Bottom Line 

Glen Weyl is entering a truly distinctive chapter of his career and our evolving relationship with AI – one that sits at the convergence of morality, belief and advanced technology. As advocates and watchers of emerging tech, we have an opportunity to support a narrative often overlooked: that faith communities are not passive users of technology — they can shape it, partner with it, and help define what a just, flourishing digital society looks like.

Let’s give Glen the spotlight he deserves in 2026.Find out more about how to book Glen at your next event. Click here.