INTRODUCTION
A look at life today, presents us with an existence of chaos. We are experiencing wars, upheavals, the destruction of the earth and climate changes. The global leadership is unable to reach a consensus because of its own priorities due to a variety of circumstances.
Whether we like it or not, or whether we agree or not, dramatic and drastic changes are going to impact every one on earth in the immediate future.
DEMOGRAPHIC HEADWINDS
One of the major issues facing the world today, is managing the economy of a nation to keep it alive. It evident that nations are borrowing more and more to keep afloat. They do so to manage inflation (wage increase demands, rising medical costs, pension schemes etc. They do so to remain in power).
Other issues global leaders have to face is an ageing population, lack of labour, immigrants, unemployment, political instability and war threats. A news report: ‘Getting old before getting rich’: EBRD sounds alarm on demographic headwinds. It states that “Countries must act now to keep slowing population growth from wreaking havoc on their long-term economic prospects. Already today, demography is eroding growth in living standards, and it is going to be a headwind for GDP growth in the future,” EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik told Reuters.
She is reported to have also said that post-communist nations, are getting old before getting rich, with the median age hitting 37 at a time when the average GDP per capita stands at US$10,000 (RM41,500). That was a quarter of the amount recorded when the median age hit that level in advanced economies in the 1990s. She pointed out that migration at the level needed to counteract falling births is not politically palatable in most places. [https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2025/11/25/getting-old-before-getting-rich-ebrd-sounds-alarm-on-demographic-headwinds/199610]
EXTENDING THE RETIREMENT AGES
One solution to this has been to increase the retirement age as well as changes to pension schemes. We are currently witnessing the impact of this in France. No government has been able to survive over this. This approach does offer those who are able to work to work longer. However, for many, it appears that one could possibly die at work and be unable to enjoy retirement. It does help a government in the short term but there is no way it can avoid paying more on retirement?
SOLUTIONS
While there are efforts to tackle this situation of retirement and pension schemes, on wonders why measures are not undertaken to end a long list of abuses. What is beyond my comprehension is why do we allow our politicians in Malaysian to receive overlapping pensions? It is quite unjust to witness politicians in Indonesia getting all kinds of perks when society as a whole live in poverty.
Doing away with pension schemes means that government employees will need to be paid on par with the private sector. All these adjustments involve financial implications which are also related to economic prosperity.
DRASTIC DECISIONS
The leadership of every government in the future will have to decide to make decisions that are unfavourable or postpone the inevitable. To remain in power, governments need to tackle corruption, misappropriation of funds, mismanagement, abuse of power and self-enrichment. Failure to do so would result in what took place in Bangladesh and Nepal. Every society has a breaking point. When that point is reached, giving up one’s life means nothing.
THE ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
“The term artificial intelligence sometimes evokes images of robots and gigantic machines taking over the world and causing havoc – as portrayed in the science fiction genre. In reality, though, artificial intelligence (AI) is simply the replication of human intelligence in machines. It is a branch of computer science that involves building systems and applications that perceive their environment and act accordingly. The AI industry is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.” [Islam on Artificial Intelligence: https://islamexplained.info/2025/09/26/islam-on-artificial-intelligence/]
According to Shailendra Kumar (July 14, 2025): “AI is set to drive global GDP growth by 2030, adding up to $15.7 trillion from 2026 trends, boosting productivity and creating jobs worldwide. it’s a powerhouse poised to transform global economies, adding trillions to the gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the decade. From boosting productivity to creating new jobs, the AI economic impact 2026-2030 is set to be massive, with forecasts suggesting up to $15.7 trillion in cumulative economic value by 2030, according to recent analyses. [https://www.cognitivetoday.com/2025/07/ai-gdp-growth-2030-boost-from-2026-trends-in-july-2025/]
Not all AI products are good. For example, self-driving cars have caused numerous traffic accidents, killing several people in recent years. There is also the possibility that advanced robots could become too difficult to control in the future.
A news report states that “AI chatbots, while greatly assisting people, have also made them lazy, screen-addicted, and overly reliant on AI. People have begun using AI chatbots to do the “thinking” for them which has arguably diminished their creativity and ingenuity. AI chatbots can easily provide false information, and can even invent “facts” and make ridiculous claims – something known as AI hallucinations. They also lack emotional capacity – individuals who rely on AI chatbots for emotional support not only tend to become more socially isolated, but also have been known to cause self-harm following interactions with AI.” [Islam on Artificial Intelligence: https://islamexplained.info/2025/09/26/islam-on-artificial-intelligence/]
UNEMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS
The question here is: Just how will societies manage disruptions to their lives on such a large scale. It will result in job disruption and unemployment on a large scale?
The development of artificial intelligence typically incurs high costs. It is a double-edged sword. We are already witnessing humans being replaced by AI-based machines in various industrial jobs. This trend is going to witness unemployment, which in turn requires governments to come up with social plans, related to handouts or monthly allowances to compensate wages to calm unemployment and repercussion arising from this situation.
The Universal Basic Income (UBI) mass structural unemployment policy is an idea proposed as a new social contract for the age of AI. However, it is highly controversial, facing significant arguments both for and against its implementation.
THE NEW FEUDAL SYSTEM: TECHNO-FEUDALISM
This concept was popularized by economist Yanis Varoufakis and others. It suggests that the AI-driven economy moves beyond traditional capitalism and resembles a new form of medieval control. In this model, the vast productivity of the AI-powered economy is not paid out in wages (because there are no jobs) or widely distributed capital returns. Instead, the elite owners of the AI infrastructure extract digital rent from everyone who uses their platforms or needs access to the automated services. The compensation or "handouts" I envisioned (like UBI) would effectively be the elite's way of pacifying society and maintaining consumer demand for the goods the AI produces, while preserving their ownership and control.
Are we going to end up becoming a ‘bee’ society, with the elite and powerful dictating how life should be lived and conducted? Are we going to witness a prosperous country based on AI, with ordinary citizens living on well-defined handouts while the elite and powerful live lives of luxury?
This risk is already manifesting in the current economic structure:
- Winner-Takes-All Dynamics: AI requires massive amounts of data and computing power. This gives huge, early advantages to the few Big Tech firms that already control these resources. These firms capture the lion's share of productivity gains, leading to unprecedented market concentration.
- Labor's Shrinking Share: When capital (AI) substitutes for labor, the profits go to the owners of the capital, not the workers. Economists predict that the economic gains from AI will heavily favor corporate profits and high-income households, increasing the already severe gap between the rich and the poor.
- Algorithmic Control: AI systems, especially in finance and media, are already being deployed to optimize for engagement and transactions rather than user well-being, suggesting a mechanism for subtle manipulation and control over the behavior of the masses—a key feature of the "techno-lord" power structure. (reference Gemini AI).
SHADOW BANNING
Social media platforms use complex, AI-powered algorithms to achieve two primary goals: maximize engagement and minimize harm/policy violation. Shadow banning is a stealth method used for the latter:
- Detection: Automated systems use AI and machine learning to scan posts, comments, and media for violations of "Community Guidelines" or "Terms of Service." This can be triggered by keywords, image content, or specific user behavior (like mass posting).
- Demotion: Instead of deleting the content or notifying the user (a practice known as a hard ban), the algorithm drastically reduces its visibility or suppresses its reach.
- The post remains visible to the person who posted it (which is why they don't know they've been edited).
- The post is removed from search results, hashtag pages, and trending topics.
- The post is down-ranked in followers' feeds, often appearing so low that almost no one sees it.
- The Goal: The platform contains unwanted or "borderline" content without triggering a user backlash or providing malicious actors with the information needed to circumvent the moderation systems. For the user, the hope is they become frustrated by the lack of engagement and stop posting the problematic content or leave the site entirely.
The problem is the opacity of this system—the fact that the decision is often made solely by an algorithm and the user has no way to dispute it.
1. Erosion of Trust: When users suspect they are being unfairly restricted—often with claims of political or ideological bias—it erodes trust and confidence in the platform, fueling conspiracy theories about hidden agendas and censorship. This can also lead to users self-censoring their speech for fear of being demoted.
2. Algorithmic Bias: Algorithms are trained by humans on vast datasets, and if that training data is skewed or incomplete, the resulting AI can exhibit automation bias.
- For instance, moderation algorithms have been found to disproportionately censor content from marginalized identities (like racial minorities or LGBTQ+ groups) due to historical biases in the data or reliance on simplistic keyword flagging.
3. The Filter Bubble and Polarization: Beyond censorship, the ranking algorithm actively dictates what you see to keep you engaged, which creates the filter bubble or echo chamber.
- Algorithms prioritize content that aligns with your existing political beliefs and interests (based on what you click, like, and share). This limits your exposure to different viewpoints, deepening ideological polarization and making compromise in real-world politics harder to achieve.
The Push for Algorithmic Transparency: Policymakers globally are recognizing that this lack of transparency is a threat to democratic discourse. Recent regulations, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the European Union, are pushing to mandate greater clarity.
HUMAN DIGNITY
New threats come from the erosion of human dignity and democratic structure:
1. Loss of Purpose and Dignity
The primary risk of widespread compensation (like UBI) in the absence of work is the destruction of human purpose. For most of human history, identity, status, and self-worth have been tied to productive labor.
- Apathy vs. Anger: The initial reaction may be complacency and apathy (the "bread and circuses" scenario), but over time, this can turn into rage at being economically obsolete and dependent. History shows that political instability, riots, and upheaval often arise not just from poverty, but from feelings of injustice, powerlessness, and humiliation.
2. Algorithmic Governance: If the "elite rich and powerful team" controls the AI, they control the levers of society.
- Rule by Algorithm: Decision-making—from credit scoring and insurance rates to resource allocation and public service provision—becomes an optimization problem handled by inscrutable AI systems. You cannot argue with a neural network. This lack of transparency and accountability erodes democratic participation and creates public outrage when systems are perceived as unfair or biased. The search results point to real-world examples of algorithmic fraud detection leading to government resignations.
- Mass Surveillance: The very technology that runs the automated economy can also be used for pervasive surveillance. AI-driven facial recognition, social media analysis, and predictive policing can be used to identify, suppress, or preemptively target dissenters and protesters, making large-scale, organized rebellion much harder. [refer Gemini AI]
3. The Demise of Religions: Religious beliefs throughout the world will become non-existent. With the passage of time, religion will be viewed as irrelevant and outdated, as predicted by the Prophet (s.a.w.). Many societies will adopt the principle of “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to the Lord what belongs to the Lord”. (Biblical quote). As it stands, many already view religion and the realities of existence, similar to the notion that ‘oil’ and ‘water’ do not mix, which means the rendering of lip-service to God, while at the same time living one’s life according to unavoidable circumstances, instead of correcting them. Everything ungodly will be considered as an unavoidable way of life, and thus excused and forgiven by Allah (a misconception). There will be one excuse after another, a show of the declining state of faith and practice.
GENERAL PERMISSIBILITY IN ISLAM
“And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth – all from Him,” (Surah Jathiyah 45:13).
Islam’s stance on artificial intelligence is governed by a general principle: all new things, other than in matters of ibadah, are permissible unless there is specific evidence of their prohibition. Ibnu Taymiyah in Majmu al-Fatwa states: “It should be understood that in principle all things, of various types and categories, are generally halal for human beings, and that they are tahir (pure) and it is not forbidden for people to handle them and touch them. This is a comprehensive rule that is general in application, and it is an important ruling that is of immense benefit and brings much blessing, and the scholars turned to it when issuing rulings on innumerable actions and issues faced by people.”
From the Qur’an, we know that man-made objects such as the invention of ships, coats of mail etc., have been described as Allah’s blessings and signs upon mankind. In a similar way, AI applications and other products of human intellect can also be considered blessings of Allah that facilitate us in various aspects of life, provided that they are put to good, moral, righteous use. Currently, we are witnessing AI being used to spread misinformation or to create deepfakes, which means generating false images, videos, or audios that look incredibly real, is certainly sinful in Islam. If such approaches are adopted to malign someone’s reputation, they amount to slander, which is among the most destructive sins in the sight of Allah. Similarly, showcasing the work generated by AI as one’s own is not only unethical but also a form of lying, which is again sinful. The Qur’an also warns us not to “throw (yourselves) with your (own) hands into destruction” (Surah Baqarah 2:195).
QUESTION OF UPHOLDING MORAL RIGHTEOUS PRINCIPLES
Today, Muslim countries need to invest in artificial intelligence, which can greatly uplift their economies and help overcome many of the challenges they face. However, maintaining an Islamic approach is going to be very difficult. We will need to develop the technology to preserve our values.
Currently, we are witnessing a decline in moral values and moral justice. It is a downhill battle; we are in the era of Dajjal. The inevitable will surely descend upon us in due time. We are fighting a losing battle in a worldly context. Those who survive will make it based on ‘firmness of faith’, firmly entrenched in Tawheed and Tawakkul.
The life to come in the near future will offer no assumed benefits as it did in the past. It will be one of the fittest. To survive beyond the Cave Dwellers in Surah Kaf, one needs to develop ‘nearness’ to Allah. In this respect, Ilmul Yaqeen will not see you off at the ‘point of departure’ (demise) but Haqqul Yaqeen will (refer to these Qur’an principles).
