I am now converted to the idea that artificial intelligence can translate Baha’u’llah’s writings. My conversion was brought on by the release of GPT-4, which has amazed the world. It has amazed me too. I would never have believed what GPT-4 can do, but you can’t deny the truth when it stands before you. Of course, the translation isn’t perfect, but the program is still in its infancy and is ever being developed. Also, the accuracy of the translation is affected by the amount of information the program is given, so results can be improved on that level as well.
Back in 2016, I initiated a project called Windflower Translations, in which I called for crowd funding for a translator to work on tablets that had not yet been translated, officially or provisionally. On my old blog, I argued in a post called Why do provisional translations? that there was good reason to be serious about them, given the pace at which the World Centre has produced official translations. Now, it seems that Baha’u’llah has given the world another way to produce these translations, without the need to pay a translator to do them. I am not blind to the fact that AI makes mistakes, and that human translators are needed to correct the work done by AI, but when you see just how good GPT-4 is at producing a readable text, I think you will see that there can be no doubt as to its value.
Someone calling themselves Trident765 on Reddit has begun translating Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i-Badi (a book longer than the Kitab-i-Iqan) using GPT-4. The results can be viewed on this Wiki page. The project was begun using Google Translate. When GPT-4 came on the scene, the translation was started again and the new results were put beside the old ones. Therefore, it is possible to see the difference between the results from Google Translate and from GPT-4. The difference is remarkable. Here is the first paragraph from each of them:
“Maktobat, which was based on some unverified narrations and untrue reports, reached this mortal slave. On the one hand, he opened the doors of service and on the other hand, he opened the doors of sorrow. But Sir, what a poem about health, and how sad it was to see that in the end, your polytheist soul was forbidden from the camel of Ahadiya and was deprived of the breaths of God’s love. We ask God to spare you from them and turn you to the face of light. And when this servant noticed that what he had in his grave did not appear from his nature, but from the false words of the polytheist soul, which were mentioned before you, [2] therefore, purely for the sake of Allah and for the love of Lak, it became necessary that I have the above answer, which may be to May the power of the Lord of Lords lift the veil of greatness and the mornings of glory with the help of power and the separation of divisions, and ascend to the abode that is holy from remembrance, gestures, words and expressions, and cleanse the mornings of the greatness and the birds of the divine air from the birds of darkness.”
Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Badi, paragraph 1, translated by Google Translate
“The letter, which contained some unverified narratives and untrue news, reached this humble servant. From one aspect, it opened the doors of joy, and from another aspect, it opened the doors of sorrow. As for the joy, it was because the letter contained well-wishing, and as for the sorrow, it was because it was observed that in the end, the unbelieving souls have prevented you from the path of unity and deprived you of the divine love’s fragrances. We ask Allah to turn you away from them and direct you toward His illuminating face. And when this servant noticed that what was written had not emerged from an innate nature but rather from the false words of the unbelieving souls, which they have mentioned to you, it became necessary for me, solely for the sake of Allah and out of love for you, to provide the mentioned response. Perhaps by the strength of the Lord of Lords, you will break the greatest veil and the glories of majesty with the fingers of power and detachment, ascend to the sanctified place that is beyond mention, indication, words, and expressions, and distinguish the swimmers of the great ocean and the birds of the divine sky from the birds of darkness.”
Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Badi, paragraph 1, translated by GPT-4
At time of writing, Trident765 has used GPT-4 to translate 38 paragraphs of Kitab-i-Badi. New paragraphs are added periodically. If you are keen, you can read along as the translation develops. The translation has been set up on a Wiki page, in order to allow readers to edit the translation. If you know Persian and feel confident to do so, you can edit the translation so that it better reflects the original.