challenges of AI
Dr Imranali Sibtain Panjwani has lived, studied and worked in the UK, the Middle East and Australia as an academic, lawyer, chaplain and community worker. He researches Islamic and Western Law focusing on the subject of the law, interpretation of scripture, moral development and access to justice and human rights for minority communities. His country’s expert reports have been commented upon by judges and lawyers and draw upon his diverse legal, cultural and religious experiences. Dr Panjwani is the Head and Founder of Diverse Legal Consulting, a consultancy that specialises in country expert reports on Middle East & North Africa (MENA) for asylum seekers. Drawing upon his seminary and university studies, his work cuts across scriptural exegesis, jurisprudence, philosophy, logic and metaphysics. By re-examining the subject of the law, a critical evaluation of how laws are derived from religious and non-religious sources can take places. This also means broadening our notions of evidence to understand other legal systems better so that the dignity of minorities can be recognised. In his spare time, he engages in interfaith dialogue in Muslim and faith communities worldwide and likes playing tennis and doing charity work. He enjoys spending time with family and when possible, escapes into the world of fantasy football and all other idiosyncratic creative outlets.
Rudimentary thoughts on the future of human thought and AI:
How does Islam view reason and are we mature enough to understand the challenges that AI is posing us?
A
ccording to a Forbes Advisor survey, businesses are using AI tools in the following ways:
- “56% are using AI to improve and perfect business operations.
- 51% are turning to AI to help with cybersecurity and fraud management.
- 47% harness AI tools in the form of digital personal assistants.
- 46% are using AI for customer relationship management.
- 40% are turning to AI for inventory management.
- 35% are leveraging AI for content production.”
(‘Top Artificial Intelligence Statistics and Facts for 2024’, Comptia Community, 29th Feb 2024: https://connect.comptia.org/blog/artificial-intelligence-statistics-facts )
There is clear data the human beings are not only depending on AI for their lives and businesses but even their ability to think for themselves. This brings us to a key question:
- Can AI assist human thought for our progress, moral growth and happiness or is there a danger that we can be exploited, over-reliant and/or become less intelligent as a result?
Muslim scholars, communities and generally, religious believers themselves must think deeply about these questions as we may quickly find ourselves being led by others rather than choosing what type of future we want for ourselves and children. It is imperative that a framework is created to help answer the aforementioned questions and I humbly wish to offer some rudimentary thoughts here.
Reason in Islamic thought
A good place to start is how ‘aql (reason) is conceived in Islamic thought. The early verses of Surat al-Alaq demonstrate that the purpose of humankind is based on God teaching human beings tools to gain knowledge, think and remove their ignorance:
[Shakir 96:1] Read in the name of your Lord Who created.
[Shakir 96:2] He created man from a clot.
[Shakir 96:3] Read and your Lord is Most Honorable,
[Shakir 96:4] Who taught (to write) with the pen
[Shakir 96:5] Taught man what he knew not.
Other verses emphasise independent thinking: “do you not use reason?” (2:76) and “When they are told, ‘Follow what Allah has sent down,’ they say, ‘We will rather follow what we have found our fathers following.’ What, even if their fathers neither applied any reason nor were guided?!” (2:170).
Finally we have a plethora of narrations on the importance of reason as a creation that is willed by God and something that is exalted. Here is one:
“32. Ab? ‘Abdillãh al-‘Ãsimi (—) ‘Ali ibn al-Hasan (—) ‘Ali ibn Asbãt, (—) al-Hasan ibn al-Jahm (—) Abi’l-Hasan ar-Ridã (p.b.u.h.), when a discussion about Reason took place before him, (the Imãm) observed : “A believer in religion who has no Reason is of no consideration at all.” The narrator asked, “May my life be sacrificed for you, there are certain people in our community who, in our eyes are without any fault, but they don’ t possess (sufficient) Reason and understanding (of religion).” The Imãm remarked, “Such people are not among those God has considered eligible to be addressed. When Almighty God created Reason, He ordered it to come forward. The Reason came forward. Then He ordered it to go back. It went back. On this, God the Almighty observed : ‘I swear by My power and Majesty that I have not created anything more handsome and dearer” (al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, v1, Kitab al-‘aqlwa al-jahl, book 1, p.65).
Implications for our future
The above verses and narration explicitly indicate that God encourages independent, critical and original thinking in order for human beings to remove their ignorance about the world, understand their existence and use their reason to understand God. AI therefore is simply natural part of the evolution of the tools God gave human beings to use their intellect – previously it was the feather, then the pen, then the typewriter and keyboard, then the calculator, computer and now the phone and AI. In and of themselves, none of these tools are inherently bad or against the spirit of revelation.
Where the issue comes to the fore is how we use the aforementioned tools in society. A pen can be used to fabricate ahadith or spread lies just as a keyboard can be used to create fake stories. AI can be setup with bias and misinformation or we can become lazy in over-relying on it. Hence, the first place to start is that AI must serve us i.e our goal of understand the nobility of our existence and how we may improve the lives of others around us. This was the purpose by which God created reason – his most “handsome and dear” creation as per the hadith.
Petty debates which continue to occur in Muslim communities about what topics can be said or not said on the mimbar, magnifying differences between Shi’ism and Sunnism and engaging in fights and wars over sectarian or cultural differences shows the state of the Muslim ummah today in engrossing itself in redundant matters. Why redundant? Because a young person today doesn’t need to listen to the mimbar – they simply can go on the Internet or use ChatGPT. A young person today may not identify himself as either Shi’a or Sunni and take a more universalist or even humanist approach to Islam. And, a young person today may not feel part of a Muslim ummah that is in disunity and not able to stand up for the people of Gaza.
However, a young person today can be part of the fast-developing AI order which does not care about the above except that it is a tool that may easily replace revelation as a source of guidance. We must therefore ask – is this what we want for the next generation? Or can we as Muslims find the maturity in carving out a cohesive framework that values the Qur’an but also the current extension of reason, AI. It is up to us, inshallah.
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