Dalia Obiedat selected among the IRCAI Global Top 100 with an “Excellent”-rated project Dalia Obiedat selected among the IRCAI Global Top 100 with an “Excellent”-rated project

Dalia Obiedat, Research Associate and PhD Candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Bonn, and affiliated with the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft (FIW), has been selected among the IRCAI Global Top 100 with her project “Responsible Surrogate AI Framework: Safe Digital Belonging for Marginalized Voices,” which received an “Excellent” rating.

The selection is part of the Global Top 100: AI for SDGs Index of the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), under the auspices of UNESCO. The international initiative recognises innovative AI projects that contribute to addressing global challenges and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The selected project builds on Obiedat’s doctoral research on identity shifting and the negotiation of religion, sexuality, and desire among Arab ex-Muslims in online spaces. Her dissertation examines how individuals navigate the social, emotional, and relational consequences of leaving Islam through digitally mediated environments, including online communities, anonymous confession spaces, and interactions with conversational AI.

A central part of this research is the chapter “Surrogate Infrastructures of Recognition: Post-Deconversion Reconstruction among Arab Ex-Muslims.” The chapter examines how Arab ex-Muslims reconstruct aspects of their social and emotional lives following deconversion, with particular attention to belonging, identity, intimacy, kinship, religious afterlives, morality, and meaning. It develops the concept of Surrogate Infrastructures of Recognition to examine how digitally mediated environments can provide spaces in which participants disclose experiences, negotiate identities, and seek recognition following the disruption of established religious and social relationships.

Building on these ethnographic findings, the Responsible Surrogate AI Framework translates insights from the lived experiences of marginalized users into an applied contribution to responsible AI research and design. The project proposes an anonymised dataset, a structured framework for inclusive chatbot development, a proof-of-concept prototype, and an open-access toolkit for developers and NGOs.

The project asks how AI systems can be designed to better respond to users whose experiences of belief, identity, sexuality, and belonging may expose them to social exclusion or other forms of risk. It seeks to contribute to the development of more inclusive, culturally sensitive, privacy-conscious, and human-rights-aligned AI systems.

The research brings together religious studies, digital ethnography, AI ethics, and the study of recognition and belonging, demonstrating how humanities and social-science research can contribute to current debates on responsible and inclusive artificial intelligence.

The recognition by IRCAI under the auspices of UNESCO highlights the international relevance and interdisciplinary potential of this research and acknowledges the contribution of the project to the development of AI approaches that take marginalized lived experiences seriously.

The Forum Internationale Wissenschaft congratulates Dalia Obiedat on this outstanding international recognition.