Navigating the AI Revolution: A Muslim Expert’s Answers to Your Toughest Questions
We have officially entered the AI Revolution. In just the past year, technologies like ChatGPT have shown their ability to write essays and even prepare Friday sermons. AI image generators can create realistic and sometimes surreal images from our wildest imaginations, while voice models can replicate famous personalities with remarkable accuracy.
This explosion of artificial intelligence is making mammoth progressions by the day. But what does this mean for us as Muslims?
Should we be scared? Is this a sign of an approaching doomsday, or a technological wave that will pass us by?
To get authoritative answers, OnePath Network sat down with one of the world’s leading Muslim experts in AI, Chief Scientist Dr Waleed Kadous. As a key figure who helped incorporate AI into global giants like Google and Uber and pioneered technologies like Google Maps, Dr Kadous is no stranger to Silicon Valley. We asked him the tough questions, and his answers provide a crucial roadmap for navigating this new frontier.
What is Artificial Intelligence? A Simple Explanation
We hear the term “AI” everywhere, but what does it actually mean? Dr Kadous explains it with a simple but powerful distinction.
“Historically, computers have been programmed by telling them to do A, B, and C,” he says. “They don’t change their behaviour over time, no matter what they experience.”
Artificial intelligence, at its core, is about learning from experience.
“Every time the algorithm or the computer sees a new example, it’s trying to work out what this example can teach me about the world.”
Think about how Netflix recommends your next movie. An AI has analysed patterns from millions of users, learning that “people who watched Movie A often like Movie B.” It’s not following a fixed command; it’s adapting and modifying its suggestions based on new data. This ability to adapt, once unique to humans, is what makes AI so revolutionary.
The Challenge of Authenticity: Can We Trust What We See?
With AI generating hyper-realistic images, text, and videos, how can we tell what’s real? This is a major concern, especially considering how misinformation has been weaponised in the past.
Dr Kadous warns, “Imagine those techniques on steroids. Now you can personalise it for every person.”
The content is often designed to “press people’s buttons,” triggering confirmation bias and making us more likely to believe falsehoods that align with our existing views. So, how can we combat this? The answer lies in a timeless Islamic principle.
“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate [it], lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (Quran 49:6)
This call for verification *tabayyu*) It is more critical than ever. While the technology is new, the principle remains the same: we must take the time to check our sources and think critically before accepting and sharing information.
An Expert’s Warning: Why You Shouldn’t Blindly Trust AI
When asked if he personally trusts the information from AI bots, Dr Kadous gives a surprisingly direct answer: “No, I don’t.”
Having worked with these systems firsthand, he points to a critical flaw known as “hallucination.* This isn’t just about AI being ignorant; it’s about the AI not knowing that it doesn’t know.
“They can make stuff up, be 100% confident that it is correct, and have it be completely wrong,” he explains. He refers to this as jahl murakka (compounded ignorance), the state of not knowing that you don’t know.
The Danger of “Sheikh AI”
Just as “Sheikh Google” created challenges for our community, “Sheikh AI” poses a similar, if not greater, risk.
Real-World Example Dr Kadous notes that some chatbots, if asked about the steps of ablution (*udu*, will confidently (and incorrectly) state that you must wash your knees. Nothing in the system stops it from inventing a Hadith or misinterpreting a Quranic verse.
However, the solution isn’t to ban these tools. Instead, we must develop better, more authentic Islamic alternatives and educate users on their limitations.
Unpacking AI Bias: Are Language Models Neutral?
AI systems are not created in a vacuum; they are built by humans and trained on human-generated data. This means they inherit our biases. Dr Kadous identifies two primary sources of bias:
- The Algorithm: A programmer in Silicon Valley, likely with a Western liberal perspective, makes choices about how the system works.
- The Training Data: The vast amounts of text and images used to train AI models are filled with historical and societal biases.
This has been comprehensively proven by researchers like Dr Timnit Gebru, whose work on the topic led to her controversial dismissal from Google. The good news? Bias can be mitigated. By carefully selecting training data and even instructing the AI to adopt a specific “personality” (e.g., an Islamic mindset), we can create more balanced and fair systems.
Positive Applications: How Can Muslims Utilise AI?
Despite the risks, AI offers incredible opportunities for the Muslim community. The key is to harness its power for good.
Here are a few positive examples:
- Quranic Learning: Apps like Tarteel use AI to listen to your Quran recitation and correct your mistakes in real-time, making it easier for anyone to improve their tajweed.
- Enhanced Search: AI understands meaning (*semantics*), not just keywords. This could revolutionise how we search for Quranic verses and Hadith, providing more relevant and context-aware results for scholars and students.
- Islamic Art & Content: AI can be used to generate beautiful, inspiring Islamic art or help create high-quality *da’wah* materials, spreading the message of Islam in innovative ways.
[Insert image or screenshot of the Tarteel app in us*]
Debunking Myths: Answering Deeper Questions of Faith
As AI’s capabilities grow, so do existential and theological concerns. Dr Kadous addresses some of the most common ones.
Can AI Become Conscious?
Scientists have struggled for centuries to even define consciousness. The Quran reminds us that the ultimate knowledge of the soul *Ru*) belongs to Allah (Quran 17:85). As one computer science pioneer put it, asking if a machine can think is like asking if a submarine can swim; they are fundamentally different things.
Does AI Challenge Allah’s Creation?
“If anything, it’s the opposite,” says Dr Kadous. After all our advancements, we still cannot replicate the complexity of a single fly, as mentioned in the Quran (22:73). AI models are essentially “stochastic parrots”, complex systems for reassembling information that already exists. They are a testament to the brilliance of the human mind, which itself is a creation of Allah, but they are not creators.
Is AI Assuming the Role of God?
AI can replicate a voice or create a virtual avatar of someone who has passed, but it can only do so by using pre-existing data (emails, recordings, etc.).Dr Kadous shares a powerful analogy from the late Sheikh Muhammad Alshareef: when scientists boasted they could create life, God’s response was, “Go get your own dirt.” All AI does is clever reassembly; it doesn’t create from nothing.
The Future: Should Muslims Embrace or Avoid AI?
Dr Kadous sees AI as a force that will amplify existing trends in society, both good and evil. It could lead to accelerated education and more fulfilling work, but also greater unemployment and inequality.
This is precisely why Muslims cannot afford to be passive observers.
“The lessons of history and Islam to me are that it’s been a bad idea for us to stay back,” he warns. He points to how early Muslim scholars initially opposed the printing press, and later the internet and satellite TV, only to embrace them years later after missing the opportunity to shape their development.
If we don’t build Islamic alternatives, people will simply use mainstream tools like ChatGPT for their religious questions. We have an opportunity to direct this technology toward social good and away from social harm.
For the Ummah
Artificial intelligence is not an enemy to be feared, nor is it a magical solution to all our problems. It is a powerful tool with immense potential for both benefit and harm.
Dr Kadous’s insights leave us with a clear directive:
- Be Cautious: Understand the limitations and risks of AI, especially “hallucination” and bias.
- Be Critical: Uphold the Islamic principle of verification (*tabayyun*) in an age of deepfakes and misinformation.
- Be Proactive: Don’t just be consumers of this technology; be creators, shapers, and ethical guides.
It is up to us to ensure AI is developed and used in a way that aligns with our values. By engaging with it thoughtfully and investing in our own experts, we can ensure this revolution plays out* us, not against us.