The event, which took place on Thursday afternoon (November 20, 2025), featured the Dean of the Faculty of Ushuluddin and Islamic Thought at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Prof. Dr. H. Robby Habiba Abror, M.Hum. In his presentation, Prof. Robby offered a fresh perspective: combining the riches of classical Islamic philosophy with the modern concept of AI Detachment.
Within the proposed concept, Prof. Robby highlighted the phenomenon of "Cognitive Offloading"—the human tendency to outsource critical thinking tasks and moral decisions to machines or algorithms. He warned that simply practicing a "Digital Detox" or turning off screens is no longer sufficient. “We need to move toward a second wave of consciousness, namely AI Detachment. This is not about being anti-technology, but about maintaining the distance of brain sovereignty. We must refuse to surrender our thinking autonomy to machines,” Prof. Robby emphasized before hundreds of student congregants and the general public.
Prof. Robby also invited the audience to delve back into the thoughts of legendary Muslim philosophers such as Al-Jurjani, Al-Farabi, and Averroes (Ibn Rushd) as an ethical foundation for facing technology. Citing the book At-Ta’rifat by Al-Jurjani, he explained that religion is a Divine institution that guides people of sound mind toward essential goodness. “This definition affirms that religion (Sharia) and reason (philosophy/science) are two inseparable entities, even in the digital age,” he remarked.
Furthermore, he dissected the harmony between reason and revelation according to Averroes, who referred to philosophy (Hikmah) and Religion (Sharia) as "foster sisters" (al-ukht al-radi’ah). Both are naturally befriended and essentially loving, meaning that technological progress—as a product of reason—should not pit humans against their religious values.
As the climax of the discussion, Prof. Robby referred to three methods of thinking in Islamic epistemology: Burhani (rational demonstration), Bayani (revealed texts), and Irfani (intuition/spiritual). According to Prof. Robby, while AI may be highly sophisticated in the Burhani aspect (data logic), it lacks the Irfani aspect (spiritual sense and heart-based intuition). “This is what distinguishes humans from machines. Human sovereignty lies in the ability to balance rationality with a conscience that algorithms do not possess,” he concluded.
The lecture concluded with the summary that studying Islamic philosophy does not mean retreating into the past, but rather gathering intellectual provisions or "weapons" to remain whole and happy human beings amidst the onslaught of automation. (Jahfal/Fairuz)