Let’s discuss the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and how we, as Muslims, approach convenience and rapid technological innovation with the resilience and proper spiritual framework necessary for us to thrive.How do we deal with this new reality, not from a place of paranoia but from a place of preparedness, and fit it into our entire existence of being in a state of worship to Allah the Exalted?
What do we mean by ‘Ethics’?
The Prophet ﷺ states:“Allah loves that when any of you does a job, he does it with excellence.” (Bayhaqi, Shu’ab al-Iman, 5312)
As we prioritise Deen over our worldly life, we appreciate that ethical work is essential in forming the roots of a lawful life, in accordance with Islam. Decisions are diligently made, such as choosing a career that not only utilises our abilities and supports social welfare, but also helps us earn a good place in the Hereafter. This is a classic example of Islamic Ethics in action.
Since we have guidance from the Prophet ﷺ on matters as minute as what we eat to what we say at the beginning of a conversation, it is only appropriate that we analyse the utilisation of Artificial Intelligence, which may already be deeply incorporated into the work and daily life of a Muslim person.
The Productivity Mindset
It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say: ‘Allahummainnia’udhubikaminal-’ajzi, wal-kasali.’” (O Allah, I seek refuge with You from incapacity and laziness.)[Sunan an-Nasa’i 5449]
Why do we need Allah’s refuge from these things? It begs the question: Is there a spiritual disease underlying this new and ever-evolving reality? We could take the empires of the past and answer this question. Fir’aun had everything at his disposal, but one of his extreme fallacies was greed. He pursued more power, more wealth; he didn’t think there was a point in stopping.
When you read about the Day of Judgement, you realise that things will be reduced back to a rudimentary way of living because the technologies people developed failed them. We understand that ultimately, people will return to their fundamentals. It may be that this spiritual resilience that Allah the Almighty has put inside us as Muslims, to insist on doing manual things for the sake of Allah, which actually gives us a trajectory of success in the future. These permanent values given by our Lord exist even with worlds that were so unfamiliar with the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
So, how do you define productivity and progress from a secular perspective? The answer is that we must do everything that we are capable of. Unfortunately, we define the progress of humanity as maximising profit, maximising efficiency, and maximising happiness. Eventually, this gets to a point where you eliminate the workforce altogether, destroyed by the pursuit of more. ‘More’ doesn’t always mean just money; it could mean that we want more done in as little time as possible.
The Utilisation of A.I.
Muslim scholars of the past have been at the forefront of ingenious technologies in science, medicine, and math, benefiting people around the globe. It is important to note that our Muslim pioneers did not let what Allah gifted them with lead to stagnation of human progress. We must appreciate the difference between tools that benefit people, and tools that are for the destruction of people. For instance, medical technology, which we must be grateful to Allah for, and military technology which regrettably often affects the Muslim population in a disproportionate way.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman talked about heavily using ChatGPT as a parenting tool for his new-born. This sparked debates in various communities and on social media, with people worrying about normalising over-reliance on A.I. for parenting.
Students today, who rely on A.I. tools instead of actively engaging with their syllabus, diminish their ability to think critically, which is one of the most important purposes of being in an educational institution. They may find themselves replaced by the very tool they indirectly trained for their future job.
We need to take a step back and evaluate: Would using A.I. without moderation give any meaning to their degree? A degree meant to be a physical representation of the sheer amount of hard work a person has put in for years?
From a Spiritual Framework
Immoderacy with this same tool of convenience has seen an alarming rise in people who do not pause to think, to ponder on context clues. People neglect using their essential human conscience in their work, eliminating the purpose of their very existence. Allah rewards in accordance with how much effort, including critical thinking, you put in your daily routine. This can’t be captured with simply the quick output of a neural network. We should not substitute ajr for convenience always.
We must approach Artificial Intelligence with an Aakhirah-oriented mindset. We must understand that Allah will reward us for every moment that we struggle in his path. Not incurring unnecessary hardship, but still doing the deeds that are necessary for our salvation and finding joy in all the things we do for Allah.
ChatGPT and Anti-Intellectualism
Richard Hofstadter states,“Intelligence will seize the immediate meaning in a situation and evaluate it. Intellect evaluates evaluations and looks for meanings of situations as a whole.”
In a world as precarious as today, anti-intellectualism is a powerful weapon for those in power to use against the masses. They benefit from people who remain uninformed, who do not evaluate the entire situation, and thus their systems of oppression go unchecked.
The only thing that will help us curb the usage of Artificial Intelligence and not fall victim is a cultural resistance to dependency.
With the scale of misinformation present everywhere around us, we must not stop exercising the muscle in our brain Allah the Almighty gave us for critical thinking. Let us not become another herd because we simply keep choosing convenience over effort. We must go back to our roots and understand the true meaning of life from an Islamic perspective.
Artificial Intelligence, when used minimally as a stepping stone, not as the entire foundation, could be beneficial, but to replace our ability to perform various tasks and think critically, is exactly what the current systems in place are pushing for.
A sense of purpose is gained when the importance of Islamic ethics coincides with human effort.