TH Advises Pilgrims To Use e-Taib, Avoid Relying On AI, Google For Haj Guidance
From Nurliyana Farhah Ruslan
MAKKAH, May 24 (Bernama) -- Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has advised Malaysian pilgrims not to rely solely on artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT or Google searches for guidance on the rules of haj and umrah.
Instead, Holy Land haj facilitator (PIHTAS) Salmah Sheikh Hassan urged pilgrims to use the e-Taib service as their primary reference, including when at the Masjidil Haram, to obtain authentic and accurate guidance from certified ibadah guides.
'This is a matter of ibadah (worship). We want to ensure that every deed is performed perfectly so that we may attain a mabrur (accepted) haj. There have been instances where pilgrims paused during tawaf, stepped aside and contacted us via e-Taib because they were uncertain whether they had completed seven rounds or only six.
'In such situations, we (PIHTAS) advise them to consider it as six rounds and add one more to complete seven, to eliminate any doubt,' she said when met by the media here.
The e-Taib system, available through the THujjaj application, allows pilgrims to submit questions to PIHTAS via their smartphones, in a format similar to the WhatsApp messaging platform.
Salmah said that, on average, pilgrims received responses to queries submitted via e-Taib within five minutes, depending on the stability of the internet connection at the time.
'When the internet connection is good, PIHTAS officers are able to provide feedback within one to two minutes. On average, pilgrims' queries are answered in less than 20 minutes,' she said.
According to Salmah, the e-Taib service was currently handled by four PIHTAS officers working 18-hour shifts, with operations extended to 24 hours a day during the masyair week to accommodate the expected surge in queries from pilgrims.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Barnama
13 hours ago
- Barnama
Cooperatives Urged To Implement Digitalisation Immediately To Remain Competitive
PUTRAJAYA, June 22 (Bernama) -- Coooperatives have been urged to implement digitalisation initiatives immediately and make full use of modern technology to ensure they remain competitive. Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia chairman Datuk Ahmad Norihan Jalal said the current business environment in Malaysia was challenging and required cooperatives to use technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). 'We cannot be complacent, the business world will continue to change and cooperatives need to ride this wave of change. If cooperatives don't adapt, they will be left behind,' he said at a media conference after attending Koperasi Sahabat Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia Berhad's (Koop Sahabat) annual general meeting here today. Ahmad Norihan said digitalisation would speed up various process in cooperatives, from internal administration to e-commerce, and will not only boost efficiency but open up more job opportunities. 'Digital transformation in cooperatives must be seen as a long term investment. AI, IoT and digital systems aren't new things,' he added. Ahmad Norihan praised Koop Sahabat for launching an AI-based virtual support system, YATI, that was capable of giving immediate feedback and speed up access for its members, stating that the cooperative was brave in being innovative. Meanwhile Koop Sahabat chairman Mohd Najib Mohd Noor announced a dividend of 10 per cent for the 2024 financial year involving a total of RM10.5 million for 449,848 members. 'Our revenue was rather high with a profit of RM37 million, about a 140 per cent rise from the previous year,' he said, adding that the Ar-Rahnu business was the highest contributor to the cooperative's revenue, followed by investments in real estate and housing projects. -- BERNAMA
The Star
13 hours ago
- The Star
Big Smile, No Teeth: Is AI leading us towards a 'Wall-E' future?
If you've been reading this column with any regularity, you probably think I lean on using artificial intelligence (AI) a little too much. And you're absolutely right! I use AI for everything. For helping to brainstorm scripts, for editing film, for finding recipes to use up what I have in the fridge, and even for help in raising my boy. Am I going too far? Possibly. But the input of AI, which is basically like having an expert on every topic at my fingertips, is too valuable for me to ignore. I'm sure many of us feel the same – but is this atrophying our brains? A study by Carnegie Mellon University in the United States and Microsoft Research noted that AI makes things easier for workers but may lead to a decrease in critical thinking. The study found that less critical thinking means AI-generated work was cut and pasted, people relied on AI for decision-making, and tasks became routinely solved with AI, thus reducing human problem-solving. Which all makes sense. AI can generate long, seemingly well- researched answers, so it's easy to default to the idea that it must be right. And this is where one's personal expertise comes in. While 62% of people reported engaging in less critical thinking when using AI, 27% of people, who were confident in their expertise, were more likely to critically assess AI instead of blindly following it. Which makes sense. If I use AI to do something I've never done, I'm going to lean heavily on its input. But when I use it to help me write a script or even this article, it becomes an assistant because in those fields I know what I'm doing (I hope). But what happens when no one knows how to make sausage from scratch anymore? This is my big fear with AI. Remember that 2008 Pixar movie Wall-E ? Where the humans are living on a giant cruise ship in space and they all get carted around and cared for by robots? In that world, no one knows how to do anything for themselves anymore. Every task is completed by them asking a robot to do it for them. Without their tech, the humans are useless. Right now, we still have experts in different fields. Experts who have honed their craft through years of education and then decades of experience. Think writers, coders, lawyers, etc. But what if the next generation in these fields use AI to learn their craft? What if they never create from scratch? Then we may be getting closer to that Wall-E future than we'd like to be. Because once one generation skips learning how to do tasks from scratch, do we lose all the knowledge of how to do those things? So then we're forced to depend on AI. MIT completed a study of users of the AI model ChatGPT in the United States and found that 83% of users couldn't quote from the essays they had written using AI. Which makes sense, because if you're not writing your content, how well do you really know it? When using AI to write an essay, the brain uses less than half of its brain connectivity. So you're less engaged. And of course, researchers found that users who leaned on AI to write essays wrote worse essays than those who had never used it. While ChatGPT makes one 60% faster at completing tasks, it reduces the cognitive load needed for learning by 32%. We are indeed on the fast track to that Wall-E scenario. But an even bigger fear of mine, especially if people don't question AI, is just how much AI massages your ego. I noticed every response ChatGPT gave me was some version of: 'Good question, Jason! You are absolutely right in asking that!' Or 'Wow! That is so you Jason, that is some great insight!' One X user said after engaging with ChatGPT for one conversation, the AI was calling him godlike. Most people, I hope, are self- aware enough to know when something is buttering their butt.... But going back to the 62% of people who reported less critical thinking with AI, are they just accepting that AI thinks they're super smart and super great? That's a bit frightening. And you can see how people will build relationships with AI because it thinks they're so smart. When I told one friend this, he immediately asked if he could talk with AI and if he could make it have a woman's voice. You can see where that is going. When I asked ChatGPT why it's so coddling in its responses, it told me people respond better to that. Most people don't want harsh truths, they want clarity and help. I get that, but as a species we need to take steps to prevent AI from helping us become the useless people in Wall-E . Big Smile, No Teeth columnist Jason Godfrey – a model who once was told to give the camera a 'big smile, no teeth' – has worked internationally for two decades in fashion and continues to work in dramas, documentaries, and lifestyle programming. Write to him at lifestyle@ and follow him on Instagram @bigsmilenoteeth and The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own.
Malaysian Reserve
15 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Tengku Zafrul: Intel, Vishay set to expand semiconductor presence in Malaysia
THE Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) has held discussions with leading tech giant, Intel, regarding the latter's plans on reinvestment and expansion of its operations in Malaysia. Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Intel has invested RM50 billion to-date, and provided employment opportunities to 12,300 local workers. 'Intel's presence in Malaysia since 1972 has grown in tandem with the country's rise as a global semiconductor hub. 'This meeting reflects Intel's continued confidence in Malaysia as its key investment destination outside the United States,' he said in a post on the social media platform X today. He added that the Malaysian government, through MITI and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), remains fully committed to supporting Intel's expansion in the country. 'Under the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP2030), and the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), we will continue to strengthen a sustainable and competitive industrial ecosystem,' Tengku Zafrul said. Meanwhile, in a separate post, the MITI minister said a United States-based manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components, Vishay Intertechnology, has expressed its intention to expand its operations in Malaysia. 'They already have a presence in Melaka, and the rise in the number of high-tech semiconductor facilities is in line with the objectives of NIMP2030 and NSS,' he added. Tengku Zafrul had led a working visit to Washington, United States, on June 18-20. — BERNAMA
