Hawzah News Agency – In a key session held during the International Quran Exhibition, a specialized seminar titled “The Relationship Between the Human Neural Network, Artificial Intelligence, and the Deep Learning of Quranic Concepts” was presented by Hojatoleslam Saeed Reza Ameli, a member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. The event was part of the ongoing series, “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Quranic Studies”, organized by the Noor Center for Islamic Computational Sciences.
Addressing the audience, Hojatoleslam Ameli emphasized the growing need for rigorous research and analysis to clarify the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and religious studies, particularly in understanding the Quran. He highlighted that certain Quranic terms—such as ta‘aqqul (reasoning), fahm (understanding), ‘ilm (knowledge), ra’y (judgment), and tadbir (prudent management)—define conceptual frameworks that can guide algorithmic modeling in AI.
“Technologies are inspired by existence itself,” he explained, “and in their development, they create new avenues for scientific exploration by simulating aspects of creation. Artificial intelligence, in essence, continues this path of simulating the universe, while offering new insights when we compare human neural networks with AI systems.”
Hojatoleslam Ameli also noted that AI increasingly mirrors human cognition, shaping behaviors and cultural practices through its capacity to aggregate the knowledge of millions of human minds. He described the human brain’s neural network as “one of the most sophisticated information-processing systems in nature, capable of astonishing feats of computation.”
Drawing parallels between biological and artificial neural networks, he said: “In both systems, neurons function as processing units, and synapses form the connections that transmit information. While GPUs are designed to handle numerical data efficiently, simulating more complex cognitive processes requires advanced software architectures and specialized algorithms capable of incorporating feedback, memory, and metacognitive processes.”
The scholar further contextualized these ideas within Islamic intellectual traditions, citing the works of Allameh Tabataba’i, particularly his Tafsir al-Mizan. “In Islamic exegesis, reason and reflection are not mere computational tools; they are faculties that attain full meaning in connection with guidance, spiritual purification, and truth.”
He also referred to Al-Tabarsi’s Majma ‘al-Bayan, noting that lexical and contextual analysis of Quranic terms related to reasoning reveals precise, non-substitutable semantic nuances. Each term reflects a distinct mode of processing and evaluating meaning, emphasizing that the application of AI to Quranic concepts must account for operational mechanisms rather than abstract definitions.
“Integrating AI with Quranic interpretation is only meaningful when the level of alignment reaches practical operational capacity,” he explained. “For example, in interpretive analysis, thinking involves iteratively revisiting premises to derive conclusions, a process that can inspire computational modeling.”
The seminar attracted scholars, researchers, and technologists exploring the frontier where digital technologies intersect with religious thought, highlighting both the philosophical and technical challenges of leveraging AI for the study of sacred texts.
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