Silicon Valley’s next disruption is your scripture

London/New Delhi: In 1996, the cloning of Dolly the sheep ruptured modern science. DNA from an adult cell had been reprogrammed into new life. A threshold once assumed to lie beyond human reach had entered the laboratory.

The political response was immediate. Within days, the then US President Bill Clinton halted federal funding for research linked to human cloning. He framed the issue in moral and spiritual terms, noting that discoveries touching human creation could not remain confined to scientific inquiry.

Public authority stepped in before technological possibility hardened into practice.

AI Enters the Sacred

In 2026, artificial intelligence has entered religious life without comparable intervention.

A recent WhatsApp message I received carried a link to a GPT application branded around Sikhi. Gurbani related prompts produced lines presented as sacred Sikh writings along with Ang (page) numbers. When investigated, none appeared in primary or secondary Sikh sources.

Language had been manufactured in the cadence of revelation.

Generative AI now extends beyond image manipulation and voice cloning into domains that shape metaphysical understanding. 

A user seeking guidance encounters fluency that resembles authority. The interface cites, explains and interprets with assurance.

Gurbani depends upon textual precision. Transmission across generations relies on fidelity of word and sequence. 

But when a probabilistic engine produces verse like material through pattern recognition, trust shifts from lineage to interface.

Institutional Alarm

Representations I made on behalf of UNITED SIKHS (UK) to the Akal Takht, the highest seat of the Sikh temporal authority, and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the top Sikh religious administration, led to the constitution of a sub-committee examining AI generated misinformation relating to Sikhi, of which I am a member. 

The committee recently convened at Teja Singh Samundri Hall, the SGPC headquarters in Amritsar, with participation from domain specialists across Punjab and the diaspora.

These deliberations coincide with the India AI Impact Summit underway in New Delhi through February 20. The gathering in the Indian capital brings together global technology executives alongside heads of government and state at a moment when regulatory pressure on digital platforms is rising across jurisdictions.

Regulation Moves, Deployment Leads

India has tightened its content takedown timelines, requiring social media companies to remove unlawful material within three hours of notification. Authorities have also called for stronger regulation of deepfakes and confirmed ongoing dialogue with industry.

Similar pressures are visible elsewhere. Spain has ordered prosecutors to investigate platforms including X, Meta and TikTok over the alleged circulation of AI generated child sexual abuse material. European regulators have intensified scrutiny of synthetic content, while governments seek greater platform accountability.

Policy attention exists. Its character differs from the Dolly moment.

Cloning raised fears before widespread application. AI systems now operate inside daily knowledge pathways while regulatory conversations proceed alongside deployment. Chatbots function as gateways to learning across subjects, including religion.

Scripture by Prompt

Generative systems trained without curated Sikh corpora respond to spiritual queries through statistical approximation. 

A user seeking a shabad, the holy Sikh verse, may receive an elegant fabrication. A student asking for interpretive guidance may encounter doctrinal rearrangement expressed in polished prose.

Replication across platforms stabilises such outputs. Screenshots circulate. Citations follow. The simulated verse enters informal pedagogy.

Printing transformed access to scripture. Microphones expanded congregational reach. Digital archives enabled search. None of these generated new bani. 

But GPT systems can synthesise language that resembles sacred utterance through probability matrices.

A Necessary Conversation

Engagement between AI leadership and religion carries urgency. Training data decisions influence knowledge pathways for millions. Consultation with scriptural authorities can support inclusion of verified corpora. Guardrails around doctrinal content can prevent synthetic interpolation.

Technology answers questions in milliseconds. Scripture invites study across lifetimes. A meeting point between those who build predictive systems and those who guard revealed text can ensure that technological fluency does not assume the mantle of scriptural voice.