Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

Abstract

This document provides a two-part analysis. First, it summarizes the key points from a Closer To Truth video featuring psychiatrist and philosopher Dr. Iain McGilchrist on the question “Can AI Become Conscious?”. McGilchrist argues that consciousness is not merely a byproduct of complex computation, but something far more fundamental and elusive, cautioning against simplistic assumptions that increasing computational power will inevitably produce a conscious mind. Second, the document offers a refutation of claims that AI (or any machine) could attain real consciousness, presented from an Islamic, Quranic theological perspective. Drawing on the writings of Dr. Zia H. Shah (a Muslim scholar who specializes in consciousness and Quranic thought), it argues that human consciousness has a spiritual origin – often referred to as the “soul” – which is bestowed by God and lies beyond material replication. Any assertion that machines can become conscious is countered by highlighting the Quran’s teaching that the nature of the soul is a divinely kept mystery, one that humans will never fully grasp or duplicate thequran.love thequran.love. In summary, while McGilchrist questions AI consciousness on philosophical grounds, the Quranic perspective emphatically denies the possibility of artificial consciousness on spiritual and theological grounds.

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