18Forty Podcast AI & Halacha: On Transparency and Accountability [AI 4/4]
Nov 18, 2025
Rabbi Gil Student, Director of Jewish Media Publications, leads a conversation with Rabbi Aryeh Klapper, an authority on ethical dimensions of Jewish law, and Zach Fish, CEO of Sofer.ai, developing AI tools for the Jewish community. They explore whether AI can accurately address halachic questions and discuss the potential for AI to enhance rabbinic interactions. The panel considers the ethical responsibilities of AI developers and the importance of maintaining human oversight, cautioning against AI replacing the nuanced decision-making of rabbis.
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Authority Comes From Community
- A rabbi's authority comes from the community that invests in them, not from a diploma or title.
- Jewish tradition is preserved by students and communal practice, not by isolated credentials.
Manage AI, Don’t Idolize It
- Treat AI as a tool you manage, not an authoritative being.
- Learn its strengths and weaknesses and use it to make your workflows more efficient.
Use AI For Search, Not Final Summaries
- Use LLMs for rapid reference-finding but verify sources deterministically.
- Pull exact text from sources rather than relying on the model's summaries to avoid hallucinations.
