JAKARTA, PROGRES.ID – The Commission for Bahtsul Masail Waqi’iyah National Consultative Assembly (Munas) of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in 2023 has announced that using artificial intelligence (AI) as religious guidance for practice is considered ‘haram’ (forbidden).
“So, in conclusion, it is prohibited or forbidden or not allowed because within it, there are some aspects, among them, is that even though it has intelligence that may surpass human intelligence, it cannot be used as an object to seek religious edicts,” said Chairman of the Commission for Bahtsul Masail Waqiiyah, Hasan Nuri Hidayatullah, at the Haji Pondok Gede Dormitory in Jakarta on Tuesday (19/9/2023), as quoted from CNNIndonesia.com.
Chairman of the Commission for Bahtsul Masail Waqiiyah, Hasan Nuri Hidayatullah, explained that the use of AI for religious questions, such as inquiring about Islamic matters from AI technology, is considered ‘permissible.’ However, AI cannot yet be used as an object to be followed as a religious guideline because the accuracy of the answers provided by AI cannot be guaranteed authentically. There is a risk of dependence on information received from AI, and there are still elements of hallucination that need to be considered.
Hasan also noted that many AI applications are produced by non-Muslim-owned digital companies. Therefore, he hopes that in the future, the NU (Nahdlatul Ulama Central Board) can develop its own digital intelligence filled with content from individuals who have trusted authority in the field of religious edicts. The aim is to provide NU members with an easily accessible and reliable reference when seeking religious edicts.
“Then there are still hallucinations, dependence on the information received from AI,” Hasan said.
Hasan hopes that by having AI developed by NU, its content will be sterile and not mixed with different religious understandings from Ahlussunah wal Jamaah.
“InshaAllah, hopefully, with the presence of AI built by NU, its content will be sterile, and it cannot be mixed with understandings outside of Ahlussunah wal Jamaah,” Hasan said.
The recent development of artificial intelligence has raised many questions, including questions about religion. This Munas NU Commission also discussed governance and the benefits of “dam haji tamattu” (a type of Hajj), as well as recommended the construction of a Slaughterhouse (Rumah Potong Hewan or RPH) in the Haram area to validate the validity of “dam haji tamattu.”
