Artificial intelligence: Understanding the Islamic ethos

By Mohd Mumtaz Ali

The forum entitled, “Artificial Intelligence: The Understanding of Islamic Ethos” was organised by the Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences Students Society 22/23. The event took place on 9 November 2023 at the Main Auditorium, IIUM Gombak.

The panellists involved an academic of KICT, Prof. Dr. Akram M Z M Kheder and myself an academic of the Department of Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion, AHAS KIRKHS. The forum was moderated by Br. Muhammad Hairil Haflan.

I presented in the forum on the development of new technologies such as the technology of the internet of things and Artificial Intelligence [AI], that place humanity in a better position to face the challenges of diseases and disasters. I also said that others feel that in the end AI would itself pose many challenges to humanity. For some people, AI produces more complex expert systems and devices with superintelligence and claim it will become a powerful program. It is also claimed that new technologies would produce new programs which would be smarter than the best human brains and they will surpass all the abilities of human beings.

According to my research, many professionals and scholars presented AI as groundbreaking technology which has the potential to transform various aspects of human life. It is also argued that in this century, information technology has become the main source of power in society.

As a result of all the above, the cultural development, economic growth, scientific advancement, and finally, community developments are all depending on technological development and technological development is depending on many areas of information, human knowledge and values.

Human knowledge and values are produced by human beings without any recourse to Divine Knowledge [generally known as Islamic Revealed Knowledge “ IRK] and guidance. Muslim professionals and scholars see AI as a form of technology that has positive and negative implications to life and societies. Therefore, they consider it as a mere technological challenge and respond to it as a form of technology. They suggest we need to adopt a critical approach to study and use it in the form of a selectionist approach. For them, if AI were to be implemented properly, it will be very helpful to meet most of the needs of Muslims. They also say there are also threats including being prone to be misused to instil the values of apostasy, radicalization, and terrorism.

According to them, the use of AI must be in harmony with Islam. Hence, they advise that Muslims must pay attention to ethical and moral principles in the development and application of AI. They totally ignored one important fact that the modern world and all products of the modern world are guided and directed by philosophies and ideologies. So, in the modern-day world several philosophies and ideologies have been developed such as rationalism, scientism, positivism, modernism, postmodernism, post-normal times, post-genderism, cyberfeminism, humanism, post humanism and now transhumanism. It is the philosophy of transhumanism which has led to the development of AI. As Muslim intellectuals and professionals who possess IRK, they will have to recognize the philosophical foundation and implications of AI and its impact on the lives of people. AI is not only referring to the simulation of human intelligence by software-coded heuristics but also improving man into man-machine combination and heuristics that are defined as the mental shortcuts for solving problems in a quick way. 

No doubt AI is the field of study in computer science which studies and develops intelligent machines. It is therefore described as the ability of a machine which displays human-like capabilities such as — reasoning, learning, planning and creativity. But it is not the whole truth, it also has its own philosophical and ideological undercurrents as well.

In other words, AI will perform by studying the human brain and making a computer-controlled machine, a software like the human mind. AI is not only a technology but a philosophy. A philosophy of transhumanism. If we want to understand the importance of AI and its role in society then we need to understand the philosophy of transhumanism. As a philosophical and intellectual movement, it advocates for the enhancement of human capabilities overcoming the limitations of human beings using the advanced technologies such as AI.   

We Muslims also want to understand all this in the context of Islamic approach. Hence, we need to understand Islam first. What is Islam “ a religion or worldview and a way of life? Most Muslim professionals and even scholars take Islam as a form of religion. Hence, they fail to understand the philosophical and ideological implications of modern-day technologies. 

ISLAM AND ITS CORRECT PERCEPTION 

Islam is not a religion in any sense. In the Quran and Sunnah, it is presented as the worldview and a Way of Life – al-Din. It is a true worldview and guidance which stands to promote the cultural and civilizational goals of societies. According to Islam, man is the creation of Allah SWT Who has created him as abd [an obedient being who always obeys the Commands of his Master and Creator] and appointed him as Khalifah [vicegerent] of Allah SWT. As Khalifah, his basic role and responsibility is to maintain the purity of the environment and create a sustainable atmosphere so that man can fulfil his responsibility and guarantee the development of culture and civilization based on rule of law and justice. Consequently, as abd and Khalifah, man created and developed science and technologies along with other things for the use and benefit of people. The aim of science and technology according to Islam and its ethos is to help mankind to maintain their true position and play the basic and fundamental role as abd and Khalifah. Against this background, the philosophical foundation of modern science and technology along with AI goes against the truth and reality of man and causes crisis and chaos in life, society, culture, and civilization. We need science and technology but within the framework of the Truth and the Reality of Life and the World. 

THE WORLDVIEW OF MODERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The worldview of modern science and technology is different from the Islamic worldview. The Islamic worldview is based on IRK whose truthfulness and universality has been established based on knowledge, revealed knowledge, and empirical evidence supported by powerful rational arguments whereas the worldview of the modern science and technology is based on modern Western philosophies which themselves are the result of the philosophical speculation and metaphysical conjecture. As such, the modern worldview and the worldview of modern science and technology have failed to establish their truthfulness based on knowledge, empirical evidence, and powerful rational arguments. Some of the Muslim professionals and scholars have demonstrated the speculative and conjectural foundation of modern science and technology. As such the aim of modern science and technology is not to serve the genuine needs of humanity but the utopian desire of the conquest and control of the laws of nature so that man can become the master of the universe. Hence, there is unending competition among the scientists of the world in relation to technological development.

Today, science and technology both have become sources of material gain and money. It is wrongly assumed that with the development of some of the so-called nations and countries would become advanced and developed. For this purpose, war oriented-technology and weapons have been produced. The development of the internet and AI are not the exceptions; they are also used for military supremacy and making money.  

THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Transhumanism is a type of philosophy, which is the source of AI and the dream of becoming Superman. Transhumanism as a philosophical and intellectual movement advocates that with the development of new technologies such as the internet of things and AI, ordinary human beings would be transformed in such a way that the ordinary capabilities of human will be improved to the level of EXTRAORDINARY CAPABILITIES and CAPACITY.  The goal of the transformation of ordinary human beings to Superman would be achieved by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance long life and cognition. It also predicts the inevitability of such technologies in the future. 

Transhumanism is a philosophy which claims that there will be a new way of thinking developed which would theorize that man can become more than just a human being with the help of technology. This use of technology will go to the extent where technology is integrated with the human body. Therefore, a man will become a combination of machines. This mutual union of man with technology will be the new evolved nature of man, according to the philosophical movement of transhumanism.

The primary goal of transhumanism is to move man from his position of being an ordinary human to an evolved and enhanced being. It is said that this can be achieved with the help of technology and AI when both would be fused in the body of a man. Transhumanism as a philosophical movement that promotes the use of advanced technology to enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capabilities, as well as to extend the human lifespan. Microchips, permanency, and the eradication of death are some of the objectives of the philosophy of transhumanism. AI would be used to achieve the goals of eradication of death and promotion of an unlimited span of life. It is said that transhumanism expects a future wherein humans would be evolved into a new, post-human species with augmented capabilities. This means merging with AI, integrating technology into the human body, and transcending current biological limitations. 

With the help of human enhancement technologies, that is AI, the new enhanced man will be a Superhuman being capable of doing so much more in life. For transhumanists this will be possible when sophisticated technologies are widely available to modify and increase human intellect and physiology. In this sense, transhumanism becomes a class of the philosophies of life that seek the continuation and acceleration of the evolution of intelligent life beyond its current human form and human limitations by means of science and technology, guided by life-promoting principles and values as advocated by Max More, 1990. It is also claimed that with the complete arrival and advancement of the Age of Transhumanism we would be able to look forward always to an infinite future of an intellectually and physiologically superior human race. Although it is claimed that œTranshumanism is a relatively new term and philosophy, the truth is that it is used for the very old belief that humans can transcend the limitations of our mortal bodies, perhaps even mortality itself. In its current and modern form, the term transhumanism encompasses a wide variety of techno-utopian ideas ranging from life extension to body hacking to virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence.

According to transhumanists, new and highly advanced and sophisticated technologies would, on one side, overcome the so-called human limitations and, on the other side, would transcend them into ˜posthuman beings. The aim and application of AI finally demonstrate that human evolution from Ordinary Man to Superman is possible.

But an in-depth analysis of this whole philosophy and movement of transhumanism and the use of AI reveals that it eventually aims at merging technology with human beings and transforming human to a transhuman, a hybrid of human-machine, no more human.

Hence, we need to understand an important point which has been neglected by the Muslim professionals and scholars who superficially respond to the use or misuse of AI. We need to understand the differences between the use of scientific and technological advancements for the improvement of health conditions or for some general conveniences in life and implanting technology in the human body for merging human and technology together becoming ˜transhuman.

We understand clearly that Islam has no problems with science and technology because it is Allah SWT Himself Who enjoins on human beings to explore nature and attain as much knowledge of the natural world as possible so that human beings may recognize the signs of Allah SWT and as gratitude to Him to submit and follow His injunctions.

The philosophers and scientists of modern period have neither taken guidance from the Islamic Revealed Knowledge [to which I call the True, Authentic, and Universal Knowledge – TAUK] in their efforts for the advancement of science and technology nor their purpose for advancement in science and technology is to recognize the signs of Allah SWT to submit to Him and follow His teachings and be GRATEFUL to Him.

Contrary to it, they like to make advancements in scientific and technological domains to prove that they can overcome the Superiority of Allah SWT and His Power, if there is any God; or to prove (may Allah forbid) that there is no God, no Divine plan, not some specific Divine purpose of creation. Instead of this they think:  

With the advancement of transhumanism, humanity can and should be improved using technology. This can be achieved using Artificial Intelligence. They have developed a new belief that with the help of AI the philosophers and scientists can be capable of enhancing the physical and mental abilities of human beings. Hence, transhumanism theorizes that mankind will transcend the limitations of biology with the aid of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies. Finally, according to the transhumanists, the Artificial Intelligence will create a race of God-like super-humans. ***

(Professor. Dr. Mohd Mumtaz Ali is an academic in Department of Usuluddin and Comparative Religion, AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences.)