TH Darimi

Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence in Islamic perspective

Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: An Islamic perspective of Intellect and Human Nature.



Technological advancements are evolving into increasingly sophisticated forms, necessitating updates to the current ethical frameworks. Throughout history, various technological inventions have proven to be both advantageous and detrimental to humanity. These advancements can lead to
the creation of both harmful and beneficial outcomes for society. Once the
potential risks associated with these advancements became evident, frameworks were established to regulate their production. The ethical implications surrounding Artificial Intelligence are now a prominent topic
of discussion, particularly due to the emergence of new concerns regarding
AI's capabilities and the establishment of ethics influenced by differing worldviews. Since many new technological developments stem from a Western-centric perspective, they are often linked to a secular worldview.
The absence of religious perspectives in the creation and implementation of
these technologies exposes them to significant threats from various
directions. It is crucial to delve into this area of discussion due to the
potential issues this evolution poses for humanity.



This article aims to explore the philosophical dimension of the issue, particularly the intellect and human nature in the context of new technological developments. This paper addresses two important questions. ‘How the islamic concept of Aql is related and differs from western concept of Intellect?’ and ‘why humans are special?’ and how Aql is different from intelligence. It also explores the speciality of human beings that differs him
from any other creatures. Allah attributed him as his vicegerent on earth. Why did Allah specially choose him as his vicegerent? There are prevalent discussions about the invalidity of religious values and discussion about the
possible decline of religious philosophy by technological developments in the future. The discussion originated from a hypothesis that Artificial General Intelligence or super Intelligence can surpass human intelligence.



Ancient Greek philosophy defined human being as ‘rational animal.’ If an animal equipped with a Robotic brain with Artificial super Intelligence which surpassed human intelligence, this definition would be challenged. This article seeks to investigate the philosophical aspects of the topic,
focusing on intellect and human nature in light of emerging technological advancements. It addresses two key questions: ‘How does the Islamic notion of Aql relate to and differ from the Western understanding of Intellect?’ and
‘What makes humans unique?’ Additionally, it examines how Aql fundamentally differs from intelligence. It also considers the uniqueness of human beings that separate him from all other creatures. Allah has appointed humans as His representatives on Earth. What led Allah to select them specifically as His vicegerent? There are ongoing debates regarding the validity of religious values and concerns about the potential decline of
religious philosophy due to technological progress in the future. This discussion stems from the assumption that Artificial General Intelligence or superintelligence might eclipse human intellect.



Ancient Greek philosophy defines human as a ‘rational animal.’ The current discourse among leading technological giants revolves around the possibility of a future in which either animals or humans possess an
Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) brain that exceeds human abilities. This raises the question of whether such advancements would fundamentally undermine our existing understanding. (1 Calvin Mercer. Religion and the Technological future- An introduction to biohacking, Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, Switzerland, 37) This article considers the Islamic concept of human fitrah to address all the philosophical questions that arise around human nature. First part this paper discusses the definition of Artificial Intelligence and aql and problems in it. The second part discussed human nature in different philosophical traditions.



Artificial Intelligence- problems in definition



The word Artificial Intelligence comprises two words, Artificial and Intelligence. The word ‘artificial’ denotes that it is completely an imitation of what already exists. It is created by human by using his intellectual power
as a result of research for decades by lots of people. The word ‘intelligence’ denotes that it is going to imitate what human intelligence can do such as logical reasoning, problem solving and many more. It means that humans are no longer needed for such jobs or actions, rather AI enabled robots can do that. There is no consensus over the definition for Artificial Intelligence. The following are some important definitions:



1. Machines that can perform tasks that are characteristic of human intelligence- John Maccarthy (Founding father of AI)



2. Encyclopaedia Britannica: It is the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated
with intelligence beings.



3. Artificial Intelligence Illuminated (Jones and Bartlett learning publisher): AI is the study of systems that would act in a way that to
any observer would appear intelligent.



4. Artificial intelligence refers to computer systems that can perform
complex tasks normally done by human-reasoning, decision making,
creating, etc. (NASA) (Calvin Mercer. Religion and the Technological future- An introduction to biohacking, Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, Switzerland)



The above definitions considers Artificial Intelligence as doing tasks which are done only by human intellect. None of the above definitions don’t clearly explain the tasks that are going to be replicated by AI in the future.
These definitions imply that AI has the intelligence, and they are doing certain works done by human intelligence. The first definition implies that they behave like human behaviours or they are working like humans. The second definition implies that they are observed like intelligence or their actions like intelligent beings. They do not mean that it has human-like intelligence. The fourth definition only implies that it is a system which can perform the actions which are normally done by human reasoning such as logical reasoning, decision making and creating.



Researchers are currently engaging in discussions regarding the potential advancement toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Superintelligence (ASI). While these concepts have not yet been developed, their possibilities are being explored. Some argue that AGI may eventually
exhibit human-like sentience and consciousness. In the future, we could see two sophisticated forms of AI: AGI, which parallels human intelligence, and ASI, which would exceed it. Artificial intelligence involves not merely accumulating vast amounts of data, but also organizing and applying that
information in response to various circumstances. Scientists are divided on
the feasibility of AGI and ASI, with some believing that they may never come to existence. In fact, AI does not serve as a source of original data nor generates new information; instead, it functions as a means of interpreting existing knowledge. (David Cycleback. Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. Bookboon-The eBook company, 20218)



Intelligence: Definitions



Intelligence is defined as ‘the ability to achieve complex goals’. Intelligence (Aql) is the important factor that differentiate between human and any other creatures. It is important to identify the western definition of intelligence in order to understand the meaning of ‘artificial intelligence.’ Here are some important definitions of intellect.



1. The ability to understand and learn well, and to form judgments and opinions based on reason- Cambridge Dictionary



2. The ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations: reason; the skilled use of reasons (2) : the ability to apply
knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests)- Marriam Webster



3. The ability to learn, understand and think in a logical way about things: the ability to do this well The above definitions are different from each other and they don’t clearly
express the real meaning of Islamic concept of (Aql), rather they are few of its functions. The first definition implies that intellect is the ability of human being for certain tasks based on reason. The second definition also considers that as the ability to learn or deal with new situations. Third definition also
considered it as the ability to understand the learning in a logical way. Any of these definitions could clearly expose the real definition of Intelligence.



If these definitions are applied in the concept of ‘Artificial Intelligence’, it won’t create any threats for human intelligence. Furthermore, the claim by some that it would overcome human intelligence won’t make any change or
Artificial Intelligence in the above meaning does not make any threat to Islamic understanding of human Aql. Moreover, they simply expose the problem in the Western understanding of the act of reasoning and intellect. Many scientific writings about the tasks done by future development of AI
do not consist of many other tasks done by human aql in religious perspective. They are some of the many benefits of human intelligence (Aql).



Aql and Intellect



From the above discussion, it is clear that there is a vast difference between Islamic concept Aql and western concept of intellect. Now we are going to understand the Islamic concept of Aql. Imam al-Ghazali explained four meanings of this concept in his magnum opus Ihya al-Ulum al-Din. It should
be noted that there are multiple opinions among Muslim philosophers and theologians about the functions of Aql and its role in the religion. In this paper, we are not going to that discussion. Imam al-Ghazali explained four
meanings of intellect. (Imam al-Ghazali. Ihya al-Ulum al-Din. Moulvi Mohammad Bin Gularmrasul Surti Sons, Mumbai)



1. It is an attribute for which man can be distinguished from other animals.



2. It is wisdom which appears even in childhood, by which he can make
certain logical things.



3. It is the knowledge acquired through experience.



4. When the natural power of a man reaches such a point by which he can know the result of actions and for which the present pleasure of sexual passion is controlled, it is said that he got intellect.



First definition considers intellect as the special entity provided for human being. Second definition implies that it is the wisdom which appeared in childhood, not formed by any other forms or by imparting certain
information. Third definition says that it is developed through knowledge and experience. So it is a developed stage. Fourth definition implies that it is the stage where he can identify the results of actions and it controls his sexual passion. It is the ultimate result of intellect and distant goal. These
definitions are interconnected and all are different features of aql. There are differences in the learning objective and outcomes that are happening in the human being. American educational psychologist
Benjamin Samuel Bloom (1913 – 1999) introduced a theory which includes six stages of the thinking process.



1. Remembering
2. Understanding
3. Applying
4. discovery /innovation
5. Evaluation
6. creation



On the other hand, the Islamic philosophy reiterates the ability of thinking in the fitrah (innate nature) of human beings. He is equipped with the ability to understand the existence of God through his innate nature. Moreover, Islam also emphasizes on the understanding of the reality of God as the
ultimate goal of thinking. If a person does not corrupt his fitrah, will be able to understand God by himself. In conclusion, we understand that the naming ‘artificial intelligence’ is
problematic, if intellect is translated into Arabic as aql. Otherwise, discussion is centered on the Arabic word ‘zak’a.’ The western concept of intellect and islamic concept of aql are different. The naming it
‘intelligence’ is only based on the western understanding of intelligence. Now we are going to the argument that AI enabled robots can replace human beings and it would challenge the creative power of God as he considered human as his most unique creation. Here, the paper discusses the multiple philosophical traditions of understanding human nature.



Human; in different perspectives



The discussions on the possible development of the current form of Artificial intelligence consist of the argument that its future forms can replicate human beings on this earth. While it remains a theory, many believe that it will inevitably come to reality.



1 Islamic understanding of human being



There are three important kingdoms of life. Vegetative soul, Animal soul and human soul. There are certain common and different attributes for all three kingdoms of life. The vegetative soul consists of self-nourishment,
Growth and reproduction. The animal soul has perception, appetite, desire/anger and mobility with all the aspects of vegetative soul. The human soul is specially created with all these attributes with rationality through a
theoretical and practical capacity. Allah attributed him as his vicegerent on earth. In Islamic philosophy, human beings are considered as a special creation of the God who bestowed certain special attributes differing from any other creature. There are five internal and external senses for human
being. Five external senses are touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. Five internal senses are integrated perception (al-hiss al-mushtarak), retentive imagination (al-quwwa al-khayaliyya), estimative faculty (al-quwwa alwahmiyya), memory (dhikr) and Compositive imagination (al-quwwa almutasarrifa).



Islamic understanding of human nature is mainly based on the concept of Human fitrah. The word Fitrah is hardly translated into English as ‘Original disposition’ or ‘innate nature’ for the lack of suitable words which
encompasses all the meaning the original word consists of in English. Allah
says in the Qur’an:



فَأَقِ ْم َو ْج َه َك ِللِدِّي ِن َحنِيفًاۚ فِ ْط َر َت اللَّـ ِه الَّتِي فَ َط َر النَّا َس َعلَ ْي َهاۚ ََل تَْبِدي َل ِل َخْل ِق اللَّـ ِهۚ ذَِل َك الِدِّي ُن اْلقَيِِّ ُم َولَ ـ ِك َّن
أَ ْكثَ َر النَّا ِس ََل يَ ْعلَ ُمو َن )Surah al-Rum:30(



So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the Faith: (Establish) God’s handiwork according To the pattern on which He has made mankind: No change (let there be) in the work (wrought) By God: that is The standard Religion: But most among mankind Understand not.



This verse implies the meaning of human fitrah in which human was created in a way no one can change the way Allah designed upon him. It means that fitrah is a predestined entity upon human being. Imam Ibn Kathir (r)
interprets the verse that ‘human is created with a sound fitrah in a way to recognize Allah and reach Tawhid, and that there is no god except him. That is the straightway of Islam.’5
In his exegetical work Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Imam
al-Qurtubi explained the different opinions among Muslim interpreters on the meaning of this word in the Qur’an and Hadith.



1. Islam- some scholars interpreted the meaning of this word as Islam
manifesting from the above verse and Hadith narrated by Abu Huraira(r). This was the common opinion among early interpreters.



2. Pre-destiny- He used the Arabic word Bad’a in the meaning of the way Allah decided his birth, death, success, failure and his way after puberty. They took the verse واألرض السموات فاطر (Surah al-An’am-14).



3. The word fitrah or its derivations don’t mean inclusiveness of all, rather it is only for believers, because if every child is born on Islam no one will become unbeliever and it is evident that Allah created some people for the hell.



4. Every child is born with an ability in nature to know his sustainer when he reaches the level of knowing things. Then it is different from animals because they don’t reach an understanding level by their nature. This is the opinion of Jurists. According to them he is created in a neutral stage without having features of belief, unbelief. However
he chooses his way after puberty. Their state is the state of animals
before puberty. They took evidence from the verse:



َو ََّّللاُ أَ ْخ َر َج ُكْم ِم ْن بُ ُطو ِن أُ َّمهاتِ ُكْم ََل تَ ْعلَ ُمو َن َشْيئاً )78 :surah al-Nahl(



5. It is the innate disposition (Khilqa) and body (Hai’a) in the body of a child which are prepared for distinguishing creatures of Allah and indicate to the existence of creator and sustainer and believe it, but external things such as parents distort him from this into the stray path. This is opined by him as received from many more scholars such as Ibn A’tiyyah and Abu Umar (r). Mediaeval Muslim philosopher and exegete, Imam Fakr al-Din al-Razi (r) interprets the word fitrah as Tawhid (Monotheism) when Allah created them
in the backbone of prophet Adam (a) and asked them to testify on their submission to Allah (Surah al-A’raf : 172).



6. He opined that every human being has the belief of Tawhid in his nature, but that belief is not enough for the actual belief (Iman).
He says: ‘They were created with an inherent disposition to obey it, and cannot disobey it nor rebel against it. For if it orders the eye to be opened, it is opened, if it orders the foot to move, it moves.’ (Imam al-Ghazali. Revival of religion’s sciences. Translated by Mohammad Mahdi al-Sharif. Vol.3)



Imam al-Ghazali explained four important elements of a human body. They are Nafs (human body), Ruh (soul), Aql (intellect) and Qalb (Heart).



1. Qalb
It has two meanings:
1. It is the cone-shaped organ of flesh which is located inside the left side of the chest.



2. It is a subtle tenuous substance of an ethereal spiritual sort (Latifah Rabbaniyyah Ruhaniyyah) which is connected with the spiritual heart.



The important factor that distinguishes him from any other creatures is his ability to understand Allah. The process of knowing him occurs in Qalb. Other parts of the human body are tools working for Qalb to reach the
understanding of Allah. The reason for the success or failure of the human depends upon the perfection and imperfection of the state of his Qalb. If someone purifies his heart towards the direction of Allah, he reaches a stage of experiential knowledge of Allah. Prophets are the best example for this. They could receive the revelation of Allah by purifying their heart. They were born with purified nature. Just like that, the saints who submitted themselves to Allah are able to have experiential knowledge. It is an acquired state of the human body.



3. Ruh (spirit)
It has two meanings:
1. It is a subtle body whose source is the cavity of the physical heart, and which spreads by means of the pulsatile arteries to all the other parts of the body. The sensational work of a body happens through the functioning of Ruh (spirit) in it. It is a subtle tenuous substance in man which knows and perceives. When Prophet Muhammad (s) was asked about the human soul, he replied: It is the matter in the hands of Allah.




3. Nafs (body)



It is also described in two meanings:



1. It is the meaning which encompasses faculties of anger and appetite
in man.
2. It is a subtle tenuous substance which is the reality of a man. It is the soul and essence of man. It’s meaning changes according to the
changes in circumstances.



4. Aql (intellect)
He explains two meanings of Aql:



1. It is intellect with which true nature of things of this material world is known and it lies in the soul.
2. It is a power to understand the secrets of different learnings. This part of the human body is used to acquire knowledge. (Ihya Ulum al-Din, Tedisobandi. WordPress. Dar al-Minhaj. Saudi Arabia. 2011 vol:5, 19)



The important part of a human being is his Qalb. After defining Qalb as the receiver of the knowledge, he explained two kinds of armies in the meaning as they are servants of it, external and internal as we discussed earlier. The external tools are visible by eyes and the internal tools are invisible. In fact,
every human being is a combination of all these faculties. Each of these faculties interconnected for the clear function of them. They are connected with physical and spiritual nature. There are four states or levels of human fitrah, Hayawaniyyah (animal
level), Bashariyya (human level), insaniyyah (human level), Ruhaniyya or malakiyya (angelic levels). Every child is born in the bashariyya stage. From this stage, he can reach the angelic level through performing upon the instructions of Allah. If someone acts against the instructions of Allah, he may be demoted to the animal level where he does not use his Aql in its pure level.



Here arises an important question. Is a human created with pure fitrah or a neutral fitrah in a way that he can develop that through good deeds or denigrate it by dirty actions? This is an important question. Islam also reiterated that if a child died before puberty, he will be directed to heaven without question or query. Moreover, Islam also says that if a child does evil things before his age of puberty it will be considered in the account of his parents, because it is their duty to direct him through the straight path. Allah imparts some pieces of self-evident knowledge in the heart of every child. In the later period of his time, he made these pieces as the building blocks
for the development of knowledge. In conclusion, Allah created human being as a special creature of him. The western philosophy couldn’t explain the real nature of the human being yet. First and foremost reason is their worldview.



2. Modern Theories of Human Nature
In this paper,



we examine the multiple modern approaches towards the real nature of human beings. Aristotle defined human as rational animal
(hayawan natiq). It partially negated the spiritual dimension. Western philosophy completely ignored the spiritual dimension of human and focused on the biological aspects of them. It was largely influenced by Aristotelian philosophy. They coined certain words to replicate some important philosophical concepts such as ‘consciousness or heart’ for soul or explained the functions of soul as only consciousness.
The first philosophical tradition that inquired about their goals, and paths towards understanding God and morality was Ancient Greek, by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They defined human beings as "rational animals." the innate nature of human in a neutral stage, i.e. a new baby is born in a neutral
stage without having any knowledge about the existence of God. However, during his life, using reasoning ability, he can reach the understanding about the creator.



The definition given by Greek philosophy was challenged in the mediaeval period of Islam. Second philosophical tradition was Islamic philosophy that mainly developed in the mediaeval period of Islam. The first important
Muslim philosopher who studied this was Al-Farabi, al-Kindi, Ibn sina and Ibn Rushd. They were influenced by Greek philosophy who gave more importance to rational ability than revelation. They attempted to incorporate their ideologies into Islamic philosophy. Imam al-Ghazali (r) responded to their false arguments and established pure
Islamic philosophy. He explained that every human being is born with an innate nature toward the understanding of the existence of God. However, his ability to reason may develop this predominant understanding or lead him into the negation of his primordial nature. It is the prevailing concept among Muslims all over the world. Imam al-Ghazali in his book ‘The Deliverer from Error (al-Munqidh min al-dalal) articulated his view of human fitrah in contrast to the understanding of Greek philosophy.



Another tradition is western philosophy which developed after the French revolution. It was a response to anger formed against the church based Europe. They were influenced by Greek philosophy of complete dependence on rationality. It was a complete negation of divine interventions in any of the matters of the universe. They focused on the physical body of the human being and negated the metaphysical dimension. Christian philosophy believed in the concept of inborn criminality of human beings. It was based on the first sin done by Adam and Hawa which is known as ‘the fall of man.’ It is an inherited original sin that is passed through every new-born child.
There are a number of theories that developed in the west explaining human
nature.



1. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)



The Freudian concept of human being created a negative image of man. He
believed that there is no difference between man and other members of the animal kingdom. Man is created with intellectual ability for the destruction and he is enslaved to his sexual impulses.



2. Behaviourism



The behaviourist approach says that man is neither good nor bad. He is nothing more than an outcome of his environment. They denied innate knowledge and innate nature. Pavlov (1849-1936), J.B. Watson (1878-1958), and B.F. Skinner (1904-0990) are the important proponents of this approach.



3. Humanistic psychology



This approach believes that man is born with a good nature but reacts negatively due to situations which he gets into. They did not believe that all human actions can be reduced to a stimulus-response type of action. Man
has a subjective inner dimension. Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987) are the important proponents of this approach.



4. Darwinist approach



Darwinism believed that the origin of man goes back to the ape family. The nature of man is created due to the evolution from other species. It implies that the inclination in the hearts of every child is the by-product of the natural selection process or survival of humankind.



Today, there is a new concept formed in the west which is known as Neuroethology. It discusses the link between man’s neuro structure and religiosity. According to this view, Religion is hardwired in humans which
means that religion is natural to man and a core human component. They are really searching for the actual gene responsible for the religious disposition inside man. Even if there are differences in the understanding, they all were formed in response to religion based on materialist view of the universe.



Conclusion



Muslim scholars had attempted to address the reality of human being from the classical period of scholarly engagement in philosophy. The early philosophers in Islamic history were influenced by classical Greek philosophy and they blindly imitated Greek philosophy. It caused serious mistakes in the interpretation of Islamic understanding of things. Muslim
revivalist scholars such as Imam al-Ghazali strived hard to neutralise Islamic philosophy from Greek philosophy. The technological
developments such as Artificial Intelligence are really pushing us to understand who we really are. These technological developments raise serious questions against the liberal understanding of the reality of the universe and western worldview.



Islam provides a philosophical and theological basis for any potential future developments, even without knowledge of what is to come. Islamic legal and ethical principles are considered absolute. The fundamental idea of Islam is that all actions that are beneficial to humanity are permitted, while those that are detrimental are forbidden. The argument that the future versions of AI could surpass human beings and it may affect the future of the earth won’t make any effect to Islamic philosophy. They question the validity of religion and beliefs in the context of new technological developments. The problem arises from modern understanding which was formed based on liberal perspective. They
completely negated the spiritual dimension of human being. The study explored the arising possibilities of religion centered philosophy
in the context of new technological developments. Modern philosophical
theories failed in creating an ethical and philosophical frameworks for new developments in the society.



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The paper presented by Luqman Jalali in IRITAQ International Quranic seminar.