Pesantren in the midst of the Intelligence Technology and AI (Artificial Intelligence) – Darul Ma’arif Islamic Boarding School

Darulmaarif.net – Indramayu, May 28, 2025 | 16.00 WIB

“Speed ​​is not only a matter of physical motion, but also a way of thinking, how to communicate, and even a way to understand knowledge.”
– Yasraf Amir Piliang, a running world

In his book Running World: Dromology, Imploes, FantasmagoriaYasraf Amir Piliang presents a sharp criticism of contemporary world reality that moves in extraordinary speed – a world that is no longer stable, which runs, and at a certain point “exploded from within” (Implosi) by the density of information and digital images that are increasingly unstoppable. Yasraf offers a very relevant critical social philosophy framework for reading the dynamics of the changing times, including: the world of Islamic education, especially Islamic boarding schools.

In the midst of the swift flow of digital and technological advances that continue to run, the pesantren remains standing as a fortress of science, morals, and tradition. However, in an era where all things competed to be fast and instant, important questions arise: Are pesantren still relevant? And how can pesantren answer the challenges of digital times, including the presence of artificial intelligence (AI)?

Today, pesantren no longer live in a separate space from global reality. He was also affected by “dromology” – the speed of the speed of Paul Virilio who was appointed by Yasraf – in which technology, in particular Artificial intelligence (AI), becomes a new driving force that changes the rhythm of the lives of students, kyai, to the cleric.

Imploes Reality in the World of Pesantren

Yasraf talks about reality implotion as a condition in which the boundary between the real and virtual becomes blurred. In the world of pesantren today, this phenomenon can be seen from the entry of social media, e-learning, to AI in learning activities. Santri now not only learn from the Yellow and Sorogan or Bandongan, but also from YouTube, AI technology such as chatgpt, LM notebook, Gemini, Deepseek, Grok, and other digital learning platforms.

However, if not escorted by wisdom, the speed of this information can cause meaning disorientation. Classic texts can be left behind if you lose competitiveness with tiktok content that is fast, visual, and entertaining. This is a form of “fantasmagoria” – pseudo -transformed reality is spectacular, but empty substance.

Dromology and educational acceleration

The concept of dromology or philosophy of speed highlights how speed changes social, political, and cultural structures. In the context of pesantren, we can see:

• Curriculum acceleration With online learning and digital access to hundreds of books in an instant.
• Decentralization of scientific authorityWhere students can access the opinions of scholars from all over the world without waiting for recitation.
• Acceleration of fatwa production and religious contentWhere Ustadz and Kyai are now competing to make instant preaching content on social media.

This then creates a new pressure: How do the pesantren maintain the depth of religion (Tafaqquh fid-diin) in the midst of accelerating access to information?

AI and the future of the pesantren

Artificial intelligence has entered the world of Islamic education. Some progressive boarding schools have used AI to:

• Make a fatwa chatbot based on Syafi’i schools.
• Yellow Book Analysis* With the help of OCR and NLP.
• Detect plagiarism in the writing (taqrirot) santri.
• Build an adaptive curriculum Based on Santri Learning Preferences.

However, all of that brings ethical and epistemological challenges. A glass of questions then stick out:
Will Ai replace the role of the teacher, Ustadz or Kyai? Who can ensure the truth of digital interpretation? Will scientific understanding remain rasikh if ​​taught by the machine? Because, AI does not have wisdom, scientific sanad, morals, and spirit of knowledge-things that can only be passed on from the teacher to students directly (talaqqi).

Conclusion: Relevance of Yasraf’s ideas for pesantren

A running world Not just about the western world or modern city. He also spoke to us: the world of pesantren, who today ran after the times. Yasraf reminded that in the running, we could lose the substance if it did not stop for a moment to reflect, contemplation, or in the language of santri: Muhasabatun Nafs.

Pesantren must be holistic and systemic, while still embracing technology without leaving the roots of tradition. AI can be a tool TafwidNo Tajrid (removal). The world may run, but the pesantren must be the center of gravity of knowledge that is deeply rooted while still flexible reading the changing times.

Hope it is useful. Wallohu a’lam.