Daas Mechona Discusses How AI Can Help Or Hinder Reaching A Correct Psak Halacha

An unusual manuscript titled Daas Mechona (Machine Knowledge) has circulated online, drawing attention within Torah scholarship circles. The work, spanning hundreds of pages, examines the intersection of artificial intelligence and Jewish law.

Attributed to Feivel Finef of Boro Park, the manuscript addresses "an examination of the issues arising from the development of artificial intelligence in Jewish law and Jewish thought." The author's identity cannot be independently verified from the document, though contact information is provided.

The work extends beyond whether chatbots may be consulted on halachic matters. It covers halachic rulings, rabbinical courts, factual verification, Sabbath and holiday observance, monetary law, damages, copyright, kashrut certification, Torah scroll and ritual object writing, Torah study, and theological questions.

The author emphasizes at the outset that the work does not constitute practical halachic guidance and should not be relied upon without consulting a qualified halachic authority.

This disclaimer addresses a central concern explored throughout: AI responses can sound fluent, authoritative and precise while being incorrect. Language models do not retrieve answers from verified sources but generate them sequentially, potentially producing fabricated citations and source references. The manuscript show cases where systems cite irrelevant sections of traditional halachic texts.

Consider a practical example: whether a driver who had a package stolen while it was in his possession must pay for it. While seemingly straightforward, the halachic answer depends on the driver's legal status, acceptance conditions, safeguarding obligations, theft circumstances and other particulars. An AI system can produce lengthy, scholarly-sounding answers with sources in seconds, but confident wording alone does not establish correctness.

The manuscript distinguishes between treating machines as halachic authorities versus using them as tools assisting those authorities. It suggests such systems can locate sources, organize material and analyze information, but emphasizes their output requires examination and verification by Torah scholars. As AI becomes more convincing, it becomes more critical to recognize its limits - serving as a study aid, search engine and research assistant while leaving actual practical rulings to qualified halachic authorities.