27 min
Islam and Postmodern Technology Tech on Earth
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- Technology
Host Elizabeth Renieris is joined by Dr. Amana Raquib, an assistant professor of social sciences and liberal arts at the Institute of Business Administration Karachi in Karachi, Pakistan. Amana’s research interests are in religion, philosophy, and ethics, and her publications include the book Islamic Ethics of Technology: An Objectives’ (Maqāṣid) Approach.
Amana explained how the Maqāṣid is a paradigm consisting of several fundamental objectives that early Muslim theologians derived from the Islamic Scriptures, and that from an Islamic perspective, whatever human beings do or don’t do—with respect to technology or anything else—should honor these principles to secure the well-being of all humankind. She contrasted this against what she calls our era of postmodern technology, where innovation and new technologies are often pursued for their own sake, without being guided by any moral tradition.
Amana and Elizabeth also discussed how a goal like efficiency, which is so prominent in the tech space, is viewed in light of the Maqāṣid as well as the relationship between the individual and the collective good in Islam and how we can move away from the notion of new tech as both the means and end of technological advancement.
More About Our Guest
Dr. Amana Raquib, who holds a Ph.D. in religion, philosophy, and ethics from the University of Queensland, has been a faculty member at the Institute of Business Administration Karachi since 2015. Among other courses, she teaches “Are We Becoming Post-Human: Technology, Society, Ethics.”
She recently delivered two talks at the International Conference on Islamic Ethics and AI, including “Developing Human Beneficial AI Using Guidance from Islamic Maqasid.” In 2020, her project “Culturally Informed Pro-Social AI Regulation and Persuasion Framework” received a grant under the Facebook Research Ethics in AI Research Initiative for the Asia Pacific.
Links
Amana’s Book: Islamic Ethics of Technology: An Objectives’ (Maqāṣid) ApproachEpisode Transcript
Host Elizabeth Renieris is joined by Dr. Amana Raquib, an assistant professor of social sciences and liberal arts at the Institute of Business Administration Karachi in Karachi, Pakistan. Amana’s research interests are in religion, philosophy, and ethics, and her publications include the book Islamic Ethics of Technology: An Objectives’ (Maqāṣid) Approach.
Amana explained how the Maqāṣid is a paradigm consisting of several fundamental objectives that early Muslim theologians derived from the Islamic Scriptures, and that from an Islamic perspective, whatever human beings do or don’t do—with respect to technology or anything else—should honor these principles to secure the well-being of all humankind. She contrasted this against what she calls our era of postmodern technology, where innovation and new technologies are often pursued for their own sake, without being guided by any moral tradition.
Amana and Elizabeth also discussed how a goal like efficiency, which is so prominent in the tech space, is viewed in light of the Maqāṣid as well as the relationship between the individual and the collective good in Islam and how we can move away from the notion of new tech as both the means and end of technological advancement.
More About Our Guest
Dr. Amana Raquib, who holds a Ph.D. in religion, philosophy, and ethics from the University of Queensland, has been a faculty member at the Institute of Business Administration Karachi since 2015. Among other courses, she teaches “Are We Becoming Post-Human: Technology, Society, Ethics.”
She recently delivered two talks at the International Conference on Islamic Ethics and AI, including “Developing Human Beneficial AI Using Guidance from Islamic Maqasid.” In 2020, her project “Culturally Informed Pro-Social AI Regulation and Persuasion Framework” received a grant under the Facebook Research Ethics in AI Research Initiative for the Asia Pacific.
Links
Amana’s Book: Islamic Ethics of Technology: An Objectives’ (Maqāṣid) ApproachEpisode Transcript
27 min