Today's Edition
Dr Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali*
Human and social relations have long been built on the principles of equality, tolerance, and fraternity as core drivers of human civilisation across different eras. Any departure from these foundations breeds hostility and extremism. By contrast, a shared language of dialogue remains a powerful force for peace among humanity, regardless of differences in faith or beliefs. It opens a broad space for coexistence that brings peoples together and dismantles discrimination based on religion, colour, or race, affirming the possibility of living together on a single planet through diverse yet harmonious societies.
The Global Tolerance and Human Fraternity Conference has come to embody, and continues to reflect, the United Arab Emirates’ human-centred vision of entrenching the values of coexistence and peace and of building a shared future for humanity. Through an international platform dedicated to promoting human values, dialogue, and tolerance, the conference contributes to shaping a global outlook rooted in fraternity as a foundation for a more inclusive and peaceful future.
TRENDS Research & Advisory has consistently focused on future-oriented issues, without losing sight of the central role of tolerance and human fraternity in our past, present and aspirations for the future. In this spirit, TRENDS stands alongside the UAE Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence and the Muslim Council of Elders in advancing a global culture of tolerance through an open international platform for serious and responsible dialogue that brings together thought leaders and decision-makers to reflect on the future and on the shared human values that unite us.
Human fraternity provides a vital ethical framework for technological progress, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Addressing this dimension at the Global Tolerance and Human Fraternity Conference is both timely and necessary, as it seeks to offer practical insights into guiding AI applications in ways that serve humanity rather than override it. This approach is grounded in an ethical system anchored in compassion, justice, mutual respect and responsibility.
Dialogue, mutual understanding, and the promotion of a culture of tolerance require meeting in a broad shared space that avoids useless debate and competition over belief. In the end, all human beings are equal and free in what they believe. Through dialogue among religions and cultures, we can better understand one another, build on what unites us and develop international networks of intellectual and institutional partnerships to combat hate speech and extremism. This is especially critical as artificial intelligence technologies accelerate, often accompanied by a weakening of ethical accountability for the social divisions or erosion of human values that technology can produce.
The Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed in the UAE by global religious leaders, calls for a firm commitment to the values of peace, coexistence, and strengthened human relations. The UAE has continued to advance these principles worldwide, positioning human fraternity as a foundation for coexistence, stability, development and future-building, regardless of global transformations. Tolerance and human fraternity are not optional ideals; they are enduring constants that cannot be set aside.
The Global Tolerance and Human Fraternity Conference brings together values, practices and public policy within a single framework, seeking to define both the boundaries and points of convergence between the humanities and technology, and between human and religious knowledge systems. It aims to guide the development of artificial intelligence in a way that safeguards innovation and responsibility alike, without undermining social cohesion or eroding human identity.
Ultimately, the Global Tolerance and Human Fraternity Conference stands as a message to the world calling for collective action toward a more tolerant and humane future, at a time when global demand for peace is more urgent than ever.
Through an intellectual platform that brings together academics and researchers from across the world, the conference seeks to advance an enlightened vision of human fraternity in the age of artificial intelligence while proposing policies that counter extremism through peace rather than confrontation. In an era marked by conflict, polarisation, and war, the transition toward development requires a renewed commitment to tolerance, recognition of difference and respect for others. These principles are essential to improving human life and guiding societies toward a better future.
* The CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory
