‬ Is algorithmic decision making compatible with absolute Justice?

Introduction

Let’s take absolute Justice as a concept that accounts for procedural fairness yet also takes into account balance, context and understanding.

Is AI capable of this, or can it only calculate?

In order to approach it from the angle of philosophy and faith, we will start with the nature of AI and algorithms.

We will then look at how they arrive at answers.

Then discuss the ethics.

Background

First things first, let’s understand the nature of AI and the algorithms behind it. An algorithm is like a recipe, a series of steps to lead to an outcome.

As I was learning to program and write these recipes, one thing stood out to me.

Computers will do exactly what you tell them to, they follow the recipe down to the letter. That was both reassuring, yet often terrifying at the times when the computer reached a different outcome or when it led to unintended consequences.

This showed me the difference between following the letter of the code, and the spirit of the code—what the programmer was intending and what the computer ended up doing. Now, imagine scenarios when the lines of code run into the millions.

Can we offer genuine transparency and oversight which would ensure justice as well as ensure we keep in elements that complement justice, such as empathy, compassion and context.

Context

افلا تتفكرون

Will you not contemplate ?

At its core, AI is mathematics, code and statistics.

Now, does this phenomenon have a spiritual heart?

Does it have a soul?

Can it have conscience, wisdom and accountability?

Without a heart, without a soul, can it access the Divine and answer our question about accessing absolute justice, which is an attribute of the Divine?

There is no doubt that AI can calculate at amazing speeds, help us recognise patterns and sift through mountains of data.

Yet, is Justice merely calculating, analysing and intellectualising or does it also require moral judgment—a moral agent?

Beyond seeing it as a tool, AI comes to embody the priorities of those who build and deploy it, this often means a world view based on measuring, optimising and calculating.

There is a danger of defaulting to computers for all our answers, leading to an atrophy of our faculties. It is crucial that we remember to use our God-given faculties, of both intellect and heart in order to make sure we have our wits about us whenever we engage with material means.

Deus ex Machina (God from the machine)

لا تجعل مع الله الها اخر فتقعد مذموما مخذولا

Do not set up any other god alongside God, or you will end up disgraced and forsaken. (17:22)

The Islamic view is that it is God who ultimately made us stewards on this earth and that we turn to God for guidance as our first port of call.

To outsource the role of judge, jury, and executioner to algorithmic decision-making would be shirking our responsibility and foregoing our opportunity to access the realm of higher, absolute justice. The more authority we give algorithmic systems, the greater the chances of efficiency and optimisation displacing justice. AI is not a replacement for human moral agency.

To reach absolute justice requires the faculties of the heart: our intention, conscience and insight. The faculty of the heart means we can use a window to receive Divine light and guidance through inspiration and insight, as compared to a mirror of our own making (which reflects our own blind spots).

Humans do not always judge perfectly, but unlike algorithms we are capable of making an intention, bearing moral responsibility, repenting and growing as moral beings.

Fundamentally, the trend would lead us to defaulting to a probabilistic, sophisticated guessing machine as the sole authority for making decisions. Decisions such as hiring and firing, diagnosing and treating, training and guiding others. This does not seem compatible with absolute justice as humans have sanctity, rather than resources to be calculated with and sorted.

Conclusion

فاين تذهبون

“So where are you people going?” (81:26)

Let’s take a step back and recognise the nature of AI, how it works, and remember the faculties needed to access absolute justice.

Without vigilance, it can turn from a useful servant into a master, an authority to be obeyed, even a new God.

Would we then ultimately surrender and submit to the machine? Or to God, who is the source of absolute justice.

It is incumbent upon us to have systems that make use of all our God-given faculties, to use our hearts as well as our heads, in order to arrive at all-encompassing justice—to remember to look towards God rather than the machine.