AI Threat to Heritage and Authenticity
Blog author: Waleed Muhammad Al-Hammadi
I am not one who indulges in conspiracy
theories, but I never imagined we would reach a time where technology would
encroach upon archives and heritage.
I used to think distortion could affect the
present and extend to the future—since both are still in flux and subject to
change. But for the past to be distorted and altered by technology—when it has
already moved from the realm of change to that of permanence due to the passage
of time—that is, by Allah, one of the horrors of this bleak age in which we
live.
What I meant by my words is the
encroachment of what is known as artificial intelligence, both its Western form
and its new Chinese competitor, upon the historical archive.
It has become so tyrannical that it now
dares to challenge the foundational texts of history—like Al-Kamil, Al-Bidaya
wa’l-Nihaya, Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun, and others—transferring us
into digital matrices that produce distorted information. If you were to ask
something like "ChatGPT" to write the history of creation from the
time of Adam, it would do so with complete confidence—at the mere push of a
button.
It is a frightening world led by digital
technology, one that may bring us closer to one chilling truth: the nearness of
the Hour. A materialism that has gone beyond distorting the present and future,
and now seeks to alter the past itself. It now issues judgments, opinions, and
influences minds based on accumulated data that it uses however it wishes—until
we can barely tell whether the historical documents and old documentaries
reaching us are from the trusted, authenticated archive handed down through generations,
or from the illusions of artificial intelligence mimicking that past.
By my life, this is a grave warning—if not
a harbinger of great calamities—that may sever people from their heritage,
particularly the Islamic heritage. Until, Allah forbid, Fath al-Bari
becomes of no value in the face of artificial intelligence, which requires no
scholarly study, expertise, or investigation to extract the deception,
impurity, and charlatanism it contains.
The real danger lies in this murky flood of
the digital world encroaching upon the pure spring of the Qur’an through
distortion—whether out of ignorance or deliberate intent.
This is a preemptive call—I do not know
whether it is wholly justified or tinged with exaggeration—but my sense is that
our language, religion, heritage, and everything we used to rely on, which has
been passed down from generation to generation through men whose integrity and
reliability were scrutinized and evaluated so that only what was truthful,
authentic, and verified would reach us, may now be at risk.
Our noble heritage—beginning with the Book
of our Lord, preserved by the One who revealed it—may fall under the threat of
distortion and falsification unless there is a serious and wise move to
confront this encroachment.
I hope my call stirs some feeling that we
may be on the verge of a looming disaster. Scholars and specialists, each in
their own domain, must act swiftly to counter this tyranny and protect the core
of the religion, for Allah has indeed ordained this struggle upon us—the
eternal struggle between truth and falsehood.
Likewise, I hope the rational-minded among
us awaken to the need to call people, especially those entrusted with
leadership, to turn toward sound knowledge from its authentic sources, and to
reject the consumerist use of artificial intelligence—which will neither
develop minds nor preserve heritage, but rather destroy it by our own hands, if
we continue to rely on it in every matter as though it is pure intelligence and
we are but fools and ignoramuses.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us
