⛰️ #6 | We Made AI, Now Can We Make a Fly?

We Made AI, Now Can We Make a Fly?

Note: Reconciliation of AI and Islam is a much heavier topic and requires a deeper analysis by experienced individuals.

Within just the past couple of years, and especially months, we’ve seen an enormous jump in technological advancements, with artificial intelligence being in vogue. While the many posts and theories of the profound impact and ingenuity this domain carries is circulating all over the web and conversations (no doubt, it’s seriously mind-blowing), it is important to continue to reflect and remain conscious about implications and interactions with reality.

In other words, while appreciating the astonishing complexity and immense potential these tools are bringing into the world by human minds just like ours, reminders of our limitations are vital in this day and age.

Why? Because at the end of the day, the definition of artificial intelligence at its core is to use technology to imitate the abilities of the human mind. In essence, reaching the peak of human innovation is coming back to the tangible creation of God. In this case, it is the human mind. Subhanallah!

This ayah from Surah Hajj comes to mind amongst similar reflections, where Allah gives us a reminder of our constraints through an example:

{يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌۭ فَٱسْتَمِعُوا۟ لَهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ لَن يَخْلُقُوا۟ ذُبَابًۭا وَلَوِ ٱجْتَمَعُوا۟ لَهُۥ ۖ وَإِن يَسْلُبْهُمُ ٱلذُّبَابُ شَيْـًۭٔا لَّا يَسْتَنقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ۚ ضَعُفَ ٱلطَّالِبُ وَٱلْمَطْلُوبُ}

“O humanity! A lesson is set forth, so listen to it ˹carefully˺: those ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Allah can never create ˹so much as˺ a fly, even if they ˹all˺ were to come together for that. And if a fly were to snatch anything away from them, they cannot ˹even˺ retrieve it from the fly. How powerless are those who invoke and those invoked!” (Surah Hajj 22:73)

At first glance, the common deduction may be, “oh, Allah isn’t talking about us in general, He is specifically referring to the idols that people used to carve and worship. Obviously, no matter how many of them are put together to create anything, let alone a fly, they wouldn’t be able to do it!”

But there’s a wisdom underlying this ayah. When Allah refers to those invoked (the idols), He doesn’t necessarily mean the type of stone idols the Makkans used to worship before Islam.

An idol is something one worships. We know that it is just as easy (if not more common) to worship abstract ideas than actual things. Take money, or power, or even the idea that there is no God, and the list goes on.

In our case, we can take this idol or thing that is being invoked, as human intelligence. Do we see human intelligence as the pinnacle of society and creation? So much so that we slowly forget who gave us this intelligence in the first place?

That is what we can take away from this ayah. Even if all the brightest of human minds put their efforts and lives together to create a single fly, it will never happen. Similarly, with all of the inventions and innovations human society is able to come up with, the real test is always remaining cognizant that this is nothing compared to Allah’s ability.

Appreciation and reverence are two very different things. We can appreciate artificial intelligence and other remarkable advancements and those who created them. But we can never revere them to the point of overshadowing reality.

Allah is al-Khaaliq (the Creator) and remaining aware of His dominance is a beautiful representation of remaining conscious in a world where worship of the creation is the norm.

Oh and a (relevant?) note: I did not chat-GPT this article.