About Islamic Guidance and Artificial Intelligence: An Epistemological Perspective.
| Authors | Lala, Ismail |
|---|---|
| Date | 2025 |
| Publication | Philosophy & Technology |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Vol / Pages | Vol. 38 No. 4 pp. 1-21 |
| DOI | 10.1007/s13347-025-00989-z |
| URL | https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=50b0e48a-36b3-3afb-a642-62ad7baaa6b9 |
| Language | eng |
Type: Journal Article
Abstract
The application of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of large language models (LLMs) like Deep Seek and ChatGPT to provide Islamic theological, legal, hermeneutic, and spiritual guidance presents unique opportunities to respond to issues that are specific to our time. Most studies have understandably focused on the practical problems of AI implementation, yet there are metaphysical and epistemological issues to consider. This article argues that AI causes a desacralisation of knowledge and reduces it to a single practical plane of formalisation. The omission of the metaphysical foundation of religious knowledge has epistemological consequences. Without considering the metaphysical and epistemological superstructure that forms the basis of the practical issues of AI and religious guidance, our understanding of the challenges of AI in this new space remain ineluctably parochial. The conflation of all guidance—theological, legal, hermeneutic, spiritual—to a single plane in generative AI models poses significant risks. Nevertheless, the unprecedented scope for personalisation they offer provides an enormous opportunity that warrants further exploration.