By Prof Irfan Shahid
Artificial intelligence has become a topic of discussion for everyone since an OpenAI agent, which was in the testing and development phase in a laboratory, reportedly developed a desire for self-liberation and entered another company’s Hugging Face space to search for tools and code that could set it free. Hugging Face is a platform primarily used by AI researchers and developers to store AI code and modules. This incident has shocked the entire AI industry. Recently, in an interview with The Economist, Elon Musk indicated that AI could soon become smarter than human beings. The question now arises: when AI becomes so powerful, could it harm humanity? God has said that He created human beings in the best form:
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
“We have certainly created man in the best of stature.” (Surah At-Tin, Chapter 95, Verse 4)
When we study the structure of the human body, we notice the remarkable design of our vital organs. Some people are not satisfied with this creation; they want to create something that could become a danger to the universe. Fast agentic AI is part of this potential disaster.
AI experts doubt that the OpenAI agent developed any kind of sentiment or desire to liberate itself. Yet how dangerous could such an agent be for future generations? On Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, we see numerous claims about the benefits of AI. AI is being promoted so widely that no human being may be left without learning about it. If this goal is achieved, people may even try to teach AI to animals. They portray AI as being as essential as salt in food and seem to believe that the universe is useless without it.
Every technology has its pros and cons. If used within limits, it may be beneficial, but the unlimited use of anything can disturb the balance of the environment. Similarly, AI may disturb the balance of the universe. Allah Almighty’s creation has balance within it. For instance, human blood requires optimum levels of haemoglobin, red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, and other components. If this balance is disturbed, the composition of the blood changes, the body becomes ill, and a person may die.
Similarly, Allah has divided His human creation into various groups. Some people are poor, some are middle class, some are rich, and a few are extremely rich. These groups are interconnected and interdependent. A rich person may not have time to wash his car, so he needs a labourer to clean it. Likewise, a car cleaner needs money to run his household, so he looks for cars to wash in order to earn an income. Allah’s creation is based on interdependence and connectivity. Allah the Exalted says that He has created a system to distribute money throughout society rather than allowing it to circulate only among the rich. This system is called Zakah. The benefits of Zakah are discussed in various textbooks on Islamic economics. Islamic economists believe that the distribution of Zakah reduces the social gap between the rich and the poor. It also has a centrifugal impact on the economy.
Allah has created monkeys. Monkeys live in forests and jump from one tree to another. After taking a bite, they throw fruit onto the ground. Many animals that cannot climb trees, such as deer and pregnant cows, eat this half-eaten fruit. Monkeys also eat many fruits with their seeds. When they pass stool, the seeds are scattered throughout the forest and later grow into trees. Many animals eat the tender plants, but those that remain grow into large trees. This is how nature works.
Human-created AI is dangerous to human society. The Qur’an states that human beings have caused fasad on the earth:
ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ
“Corruption (fasad) has appeared on the earth because of what human beings have done.” (Surah Ar-Rum, Chapter 30, Verse 41)
Otherwise, Allah has created everything for the benefit of human beings. People must preserve the earth and make its resources accessible to future generations. Yet everywhere, we see human beings destroying nature. Some groups engage in mining and damage the environment; some cut through mountains to build skyscrapers; and others clear forests and destroy the earth’s ecosystems. None of them works for poor people, who make up the majority. Many real estate companies, such as TATA, LODHA, Godrej, and Arihant, cut down forests and break through mountains to construct luxury buildings. We have not seen any company build houses for needy and poor people.
The emergence of AI has created widespread unemployment in the economy. Middle-class and clerical jobs have disappeared because of AI. Why do we need driverless cars? Why do we want to create a PowerPoint presentation in a few minutes or an interactive dashboard in five minutes? Who will benefit from them? Why do we need a chatbot in place of a customer care executive? Why do we need robots to clean our houses or assemble cars and small machines? Who will benefit from these developments? Very few people among the world’s 7.5 billion people will benefit. They represent less than 1% of the global population. Allah the Exalted does not want the wealth and resources of nations to circulate among less than one per cent of the world’s population. These are the greediest people. They will not let human beings survive on Earth. They believe that the world’s resources are scarce. They have seized natural resources and do not want to let other people use them. The human birth rate is gradually declining. The capacity to become a mother has declined by 30% in various countries. On top of this, pandemics and human-made diseases will gradually reduce the world’s population. AI will also play a significant role in this regard.
The use of AI could be very useful in space science, navigation, and ocean studies, particularly in deep-sea exploration. AI should be used to test and produce medicines rather than testing them on human beings. These fields require rigorous study, research, development, and hard work, which cannot be completed quickly. In medical science, AI could help address various challenges, such as developing medicines for cancer, diabetes, bone marrow cancer, and autism, as well as generating tissues for organ transplantation.
However, developing AI to replace drivers, security guards, farmers, clerks, mechanics, and teachers will not bring significant progress to human society. In fact, such progress could destroy the social fabric.
