The Sikh tradition has always treated transmission as a serious undertaking. Gurbani was revealed, preserved, compiled, recited and lived with a clear understanding that meaning moves through mediums. From oral recitation to handwritten pothis, from the printing press, digital platforms to mobile screen, each shift required discernment rooted in the integrity of the source.This concern is not new within Sikh history. Guru Arjan Dev Ji, while compiling the Adi Granth, undertook the task of identifying authentic revealed compositions and excluding interpolations circulating in the religious environment of the time. Only compositions that met strict Gurmat criteria entered the text. That compilation later became Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.A comparable moment now presents itself in a different form. Artificial intelligence systems are rapidly becoming a primary gateway through which people encounter knowledge, interpretation and language. For many younger users, books, search engines and even dedicated apps no longer form the first point of contact. Conversational systems do. These systems generate responses and frame understanding, often presenting themselves with the tone of authority.This shift formed the basis of a recent submission by UNITED SIKHS (UK) to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), highlighting the misuse of generative intelligence in relation to Gurbani. The concern was specific.GPT platforms, ironically with Sikh branding, are producing fabricated verses, altering the shabad and presenting synthetic language as sacred writing, though with usual disclaimers.Alongside the written submission, I met the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the President of the SGPC last month. Meetings, held on behalf of United Sikhs UK, placed the issue directly before the Sikh religious leadership and outlined both immediate risks and longer term implications. Following this engagement, the SGPC announced the formation of a dedicated eight-member sub-committee to examine artificial intelligence and its implications for Sikh doctrine and practice, of which I am a member.GPT apps with Sikh or Khalsa nomenclatures offer surface reassurance while operating on the same underlying engines used elsewhere. Without access to verified primary and secondary Sikh sources, these systems rely on approximation and probability. In the context of revealed Gurbani, such methods have no standing.What is required now is direct engagement with the companies shaping these systems. Platforms developed by OpenAI, Meta and Google Gemini, for instance, are already influencing how religious material is encountered and interpreted. Ensuring that these systems have access to authenticated Gurbani corpora is no longer optional. It is a necessary step if distortion is to be avoided at scale.Two paths now require attention. The first is protective. Clear boundaries must be set around the unauthorised generation of Gurbani like content. Producing fabricated scripture, whether intentionally or through neglect, carries accountability within the Sikh framework. Cosmetic transparency statements cannot replace obligation when system builders know these GPT models were never trained on authenticated Sikh sources.The second path is constructive. Verified and authenticated Gurbani sources must be prepared in formats suitable for large-scale machine ingestion. This requires structured data sharing, formal dialogue with major technology companies and sustained engagement. Protest rhetoric won’t suffice.Alongside this longer horizon work, interim measures remain necessary. Retrieval-based and prompt-driven applications that draw directly from approved sources can serve the sangat without introducing generative distortion. These tools do not speak for the Guru. They point the seeker back to the source.Artificial intelligence will shape how knowledge is accessed across societies. Gurbani has always spoken through the mediums available to it. The task before the Panth is to ensure that, in this new medium, what reaches the seeker remains faithful to its origin.(The writer is a career journalist currently serving as Communications and Advocacy Director at UNITED SIKHS (UK), a charity registered in England and Wales.)
