Deputy Minister for Communications and Digital: Religious AI Platforms Must Use Accurate Data

Jakarta – Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital (Wamenkomdigi) Nezar Patria emphasised that artificial intelligence (AI) platforms that provide information about religion should use accurate data sources. As quoted in a ministry press release confirmed in Jakarta on Thursday, he said that without training using accurate data sources, such AI platforms could present answers that are biased and misleading to users. ‘For Aiman and Aisha, if their data is not trained well, they can produce results that diverge from religious guidelines,’ he said at the launch of the Islamic AI platform Aiman and Aisha in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, 4 March. Nezar appreciated the developers’ efforts to mitigate risk by preventing AI from answering sensitive and critical questions. ‘This is good; there is already a kind of risk filter for sensitive and somewhat critical questions — it will immediately advise asking a Ustaz and others,’ he said. Nezar hopes the Aiman and Aisha platform can be a good breakthrough in the use of AI in the religious field. ‘Hopefully, with more intensive development, Aiman and Aisha can become smarter and able to answer many of our questions,’ said Nezar. Responding to the arrival of the Aiman and Aisha platform, Ahmad Imam Mujaddid Rais, the chair of the Lazismu PP Muhammadiyah board of trustees, said the platform offers a solution to contemporary problems. ‘The presence of Aiman and Aisha enriches Islam’s khazanah in society to foster a harmonious understanding of religion,’ Ahmad said. Ahmad hoped that the platform developers would subsequently complete the data with references to classical books and fatwas from scholars so that they can provide information that is more complete and accurate for users.