The Future of Artificial Intelligence in/and of Islam: A View from Muslim Southeast Asia
- The Future of Artificial Intelligence in/and of Islam: A View from Muslim Southeast Asia
The conference on “The Future of Artificial Intelligence in/and of Islam: A View from Muslim Southeast Asia” was held on July 2–4, 2024, at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII). The conference was initiated by the Faculty of Islamic Studies UIII in collaboration with Project 0100 led by Bart Barendregt (Leiden University, the Netherlands). The conference aims to “explore the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and Islam . . . [and] discuss the profound implications arising from the co-production of digital and religious futures.” Barendregt also asserted that Southeast Asia was selected as the focus of the conference since “Southeast Asia [does] not only [have] a significant Muslim population . . . it is also very much at the forefront of digital technologies interacting with them in everyday practices.” The conference covered three main programs: Keynote Speeches, Panel Sessions, and Masterclasses. This report focuses on the discussions in keynote speeches and exclusive panel sessions, with more detailed explanations dedicated to the keynote speeches. Masterclasses focused primarily on technical and practical engagement directly with the audience. [End Page 115]
Three Keynote Speeches
First Keynote Speech
Amana Raquib (Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan) delivered the first keynote speech titled “Confusing Technological Means and Ends: Virtue or Birr as the Islamic Telos for Reordering the Hierarchy.” She began by questioning Muslims’ enthusiasm for AI and other modern technologies, noting that they often lack grounding in deeper Islamic traditions and consciousness. She highlighted some factors behind Muslims’ enthusiasm for technology. The first is colonization, where techno-science was embraced as a symbol of modernity and progress. Another factor is the pressure on Muslim governments to catch up with global scientific and technological advancements. These factors have led to what she calls “techno-scientific inertia, which tends to inhibit the thinking and developing of other alternatives [of societal paradigms].”
According to her, the constraint to the thinking of other alternatives is a false assumption in viewing technology as value-neutral, as in the saying, “guns don’t kill people; people do.” In fact, according to her, technologies might have harmful consequences for humanity, as in the narrative of popular figures like Oppenheimer. Raquib emphasized that technology is not value-neutral. According to her, “The technology of any culture embodies and reflects what the inhabitants of what culture want and what they consider the desirable ends of human life.” In other words, technology is both shaped by, and shapes human culture and values.
Raquib’s key critique is the lack of intrinsic higher telos in modern technology, leading to a proliferation of artifacts that serve innumerable ends, hence, indefiniteness and chaos. By telos, she refers to “whole scale purpose . . . what ends are in our mind when they are being developed.” The lack of telos in technological development led her to ask, with skepticism, “how can someone who is developing this very one minuscule part of these [technologies] . . . really know the whole thing and really know what role they are going to play? That is exactly the problem [of our technological development].”
Raquib concluded her speech by stressing the need for a holistic analysis of technological progress. She argued that a piecemeal assessment of the risks and benefits of technologies, including AI, is insufficient, and a thorough critical analysis of the dominance of technological rationality over Islamic morality is necessary. This comprehensive approach is essential for developing a framework that aligns technological advancements with Islamic ethical and moral standards.
Second Keynote Speech
In the second keynote speech, Ismail Fahmi (Drone Emprit, PT Kernels Indonesia, Indonesia) discussed “Islamic Ethics in AI Development: Integrating [End Page 116] Divine Principles for Global Technological Governance.” Fahmi began by describing the rapid advancements in AI, particularly with the AI tool, ChatGPT. He highlighted the significant difference between the free and paid versions of ChatGPT, with the latter offering a much higher token limit, thus enhancing its ability to process and generate content. Furthermore, he stressed a future where AI could achieve Ph.D. level intelligence within a year, raising excitement and concern. According to him, this could lead to unprecedented advancements in various fields. On the other...
