The Baha’i Faith and Artificial Intelligence
The subject of this post is a talk given by Baron Ntambwe, who is a senior software engineering manager, cloud computing expert, and researcher specializing in artificial intelligence and big data, on the subject of AI and the Baha’i Faith. His current role is Senior Engineering Manager at Walmart Global Tech in Silicon Valley. Previously held roles include Engineering Manager at Amazon AWS and Vice President of Engineering at Coinberry. He holds degrees in Computer Systems, Software Engineering, and a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. H isecognized as a Canadian tech professional of Congolese descent who advocates for diversity and leadership representation for Black professionals in technology.
The talk itself is quite long, about one hour and fifty minutes, plus a bit over one hour of Q & A. This post is an inadequate attempt to summarize that talk. The talk itself can be found at https://youtu.be/7gjpG3Tbv20?is=1VhBfvNIWmgktQj-. Although it is quite long, the time passes quickly, and is well worth watching.
Conclusions from the talk.
For those who want a very quick overview, here are Baron’s conclusions:
- AI is computational; consciousness is experiential.
- AI simulation is not self-awareness.
- Human consciousness includes existential knowledge.
- AI belongs to the mineral world.
- AI reflects human intellect. It is not a replacement for it.
Brief summary of the talk, not in chronological order.
Artificial Intelligence operates strictly through pattern recognition and computation. Lacking consciousness, AI systems should not be granted moral status or personhood. Fundamentally, they are combinations of physical hardware—silicon, circuit boards, and chips—guided by human-designed instructions and code. To approach technology wisely, we must recognize the distinct boundaries of both artificial and human understanding.
Humans possess consciousness; AI does not. Consciousness encompasses dimensions that cannot be reduced to sensory data or physical hardware. It involves subjective experience (what philosophers term qualia), self-awareness, existential experience, intentionality, moral judgment, agency, and free will.
This distinction finds profound expression in the Bahá’í writings. In the Tablet to Auguste Forel, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:
Praise and thanksgiving be unto Providence that out of all the realities in existence He has chosen the reality of man and has honored it with intellect and wisdom, the two most luminous lights in either world… Now concerning mental faculties, they are in truth of the inherent properties of the soul… It is through the power of the soul that the mind comprehendeth, imagineth and exerteth its influence, whilst the soul is a power that is free. The mind comprehendeth the abstract by the aid of the concrete, but the soul hath limitless manifestations of its own. 1
Consciousness is a divine bestowal originating in a transcendent realm, not an emergent property of material configurations. Humanity alone has been entrusted as the custodian of the intellect. True intellect is far more than computational capacity; it is a divine gift enabling reflection, moral discernment, and the creative transformation of reality. Because intellect is fundamentally tied to the uniquely human soul, AI can only replicate surface aspects of reasoning or problem-solving. The human mind remains transcendent in origin and purpose, placing consciousness well beyond purely material or algorithmic explanations.
This reality establishes a clear ethical framework for modern technology. From a Bahá’í perspective, AI must serve humanity’s moral and spiritual progress, advance fairness, and protect human dignity—which requires eliminating algorithmic biases such as racial prejudice. Ethics must be embedded directly into data, model design, and governance. Left unchecked, AI can be weaponized to deceive, dominate, undermine scientific truth, and spread conspiracy theories. Critically, AI systems cannot be held accountable for these failures. Because humans alone possess moral agency, AI must remain strictly subordinate to human judgment. Accountability rests with the individuals, institutions, and communities that deploy these systems; moral responsibility cannot be delegated to algorithms.
Ultimately, fears that AI will autonomously “take over the world” misapprehend its core nature. Lacking consciousness, self-awareness, and personal will, AI remains—despite convincing appearances—a sophisticated execution of human-written code. The genuine threat lies not within AI itself, but in how human beings choose to use it, particularly when driven by a thirst for control and domination.
- `Abdu’l-Baha, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel, www.bahai.org/r/638170569 ↩︎
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We have a new tool. Just like the hoe, do we use it to develop useful crops or some form of nightshade? What we desire is what we will acquire.
It would be interesting to consider an A.I. assistant tool that was based on the vast Baha’i writings and history and vision of human potential. It could offer authoritative Commentaries and history on a subject at hand. Not to replace our spiritual senses, but to bring to consideration the pertinent quotes we have not memorized or had forgotten. Mindful of your reference from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “…The mind comprehendeth the abstract by the aid of the concrete, but the soul hath limitless manifestations of its own.”
To clarify, AI could find authoritative Commentaries and history, but it could not create them.