Statements in Meeting with Officials and Researchers of the Cognitive Sciences Development Headquarters

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure, infallible family.

First, we must thank God that with each passing day, humanity is getting closer to understanding the creation of the Lord. Truly, the servants of God, those who believe in the Creator and in monotheism, should thank God that day by day this issue and this truth is becoming clearer for people, for thinkers, for those who are referred to in the Quran as "for a people who understand" and "for a people who reflect." This strange order, where on one side there are billions of stars in the galaxy, and on the other side, billions of tiny particles forming the nucleus of an atom - which has recently been discovered - and on another side, the peculiarities present in brain communications, this strange and immense complexity, this order that governs this collection, brings every heart, every human who "has a heart" closer to God. We must thank God that these human advancements bring us closer to divine knowledge; thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

The next point is that the knowledge that humanity discovers - today cognitive sciences, which are among the new discoveries of humanity; once, seventy or eighty years ago, a hundred years ago, the sciences related to atoms and their functions - each of these is a window that opens for humanity to better understand the world of existence and being, which is the divine creation; this is a divine opening; these are divine openings; we must welcome and utilize these divine openings. God says in the Quran, "And He made you dwell therein"; you have been commanded to cultivate this earth. Cultivating the earth does not mean cultivating a lifeless body but rather refers to the entirety of what the earth carries, which is primarily human existence. These sciences - both those that are gradually being discovered today, those that have been discovered previously, and those that will be discovered later - bring us closer to this "He made you dwell therein."

Just as you are amazed today by the phenomena arising from technologies stemming from cognitive sciences - cognitive sciences create technologies; for instance, consider the connection between the mind and brain with machines; this is something that no one could have imagined, yet today it exists - many other things will emerge in the future that will similarly astonish us and today we cannot even conceive of. Each of these windows that the Almighty God opens for humanity - windows of knowledge, windows of science - is a stage for the transformation of humanity and human life. Just as, for example, consider the early twentieth century when physics advanced and entered the field, and the sciences related to physics took over all scientific and industrial spaces in the world, you see that life then is vastly different from life today; fifty years from now, human life will be significantly different from today; a new world will emerge, a fundamental transformation will occur; that is, what we face today, the dangers of today, the threats of today, the opportunities of today, may not be threats or opportunities fifty years from now; new threats will arise, new opportunities will emerge.

For instance, today, for a government and a country in terms of military power, the atomic bomb is a decisive tool; fifty years from now, the world may be such that the importance of the atomic bomb, for example, is like that of an Orlikon gun today, having no significance at all. That is, someone sitting on this side of the world could neutralize or detonate an atomic bomb that is, for example, five thousand kilometers or ten thousand kilometers away with a special tool that does not exist today but will exist then; that is, the world will transform.

So, what conclusion do we want to draw? I want to conclude that any nation that today falls behind in the field of these new sciences - which now cognitive sciences and technologies related to cognitive sciences are new things in the world; for example, they have entered the field of knowledge, science, universities, and research centers for about twenty or thirty years - its fate will be the fate of those nations that fell behind at the beginning of the industrial revolution, leading to colonization, subjugation, poverty, and humiliation. If we do not strive today in the field of cognitive sciences and cognitive technologies, do not work, do not make serious movements - because others are working, they are striving with all their might; today, for example, they have shown that in the field of artificial intelligence, we are fourteenth in the world - if we are even slightly negligent and fall asleep, we will rapidly fall behind and fifty years from now we will be fiftieth, we will be hundredth, meaning the world will move ahead of us. This is an important point and everyone must pay attention to it; both you scientists and researchers must pay attention to this, meaning you should not recognize day and night, and the officials of the country and the government must pay attention. The reason I emphasize the issue of science so much is because of this.

Thanks be to God, in these fifteen or sixteen years, nearly twenty years - in the recent twenty years - the scientific movement in the country has been a serious and good movement, but if this movement loses its momentum, we will fall behind. Sometimes they provide statistics, saying, "Sir! Our movement's momentum is, for example, fifteen times the world average"; very good, this is very good, but it is not enough; because we started from below zero. After the destruction of the tyrannical regime, we practically started from below zero, and when we start from below zero, to reach the peak, our momentum must be high and for a long period of time, this momentum must remain high. It is not enough that our momentum is, for example, several times the world average; yes, it is, but this so-called intensity of momentum must last twenty years, thirty years for us to reach the peak; otherwise, if we do not do this, we will fall behind. Now, this field related to cognitive sciences is a collection, a scientific apparatus; other scientific apparatuses will immediately emerge, meaning they will be produced; the human mind does not stop. Those who are ahead of us in these preliminary fields, in scientific infrastructures, will realize issues sooner, will seek to solve them sooner, and will reach higher ranks sooner; therefore, we must elevate ourselves. My point is this; my insistence is on this.

Thanks be to God, we have made progress in this field; in some other areas, thanks be to God, our advancements have been good, but we should not be complacent - being pleased is not a problem, we can be pleased - meaning we should not be satisfied with this; absolutely not. We must pay attention that if we fall slightly behind this caravan today, we will certainly not catch up again; we must not allow ourselves to fall behind. There is a poem that I cannot recall [but] its content is that we were going with the caravan, a thorn went into our foot, we bent down, sat down to remove the thorn from our foot, and we did not reach the caravan; this is how it is; that is, the caravan of the world's progress is like this. As long as you sit to remove the thorn from your foot, you fall behind on the road and can no longer catch up; because it is also running; if you run, it is also running. Therefore, there should be no pause at all; we must constantly move forward. This is a fundamental point that I emphasize, I confirm.

And to you friends, gentlemen, and those who work with you, your scholars, your students, your researchers, I say you must invest your lives, meaning you must not tire, you must seriously pursue this; because the work is in your hands, you are the leaders of this caravan and this procession, and you must move forward.

Look! I have an example in my mind that I have noted down to tell you: The French Academy is one of the well-known and prominent scientific collections in the world; that is, for two hundred years, the best scientists of France have always been in the Academy; this Academy was formed at a time when the French government, that is, the country of France, was experiencing the greatest upheavals in its history, that is, during Napoleon and the various wars that Napoleon waged in Europe; one day with Italy, one day with Austria, one day with Germany, one day with Russia. At that time, this Academy was established and formed. Therefore, it is possible. Today, we do not have such upheavals, we do not have such problems, and we can lay strong scientific foundations in the country. This is one point.

Another point, two recommendations that I have noted down here: one recommendation is that we must be able to utilize all the capabilities of the West and all their facilities - which are advanced in this matter and ahead of us. We never shy away from learning and being students; what shames us is to always remain students; we do not want that; otherwise, we must learn what they have. This is the first recommendation.

The second recommendation is that we must never trust their recommendations and programs; this is the second recommendation. You have observed that the function and application of cognitive sciences and so-called cognitive technologies encompass all areas of life. If a country that once deemed it its right to subjugate another country by force of arms now wants to use this knowledge to subjugate that same country, which it once conquered with weapons, does that not seem unlikely to you? It seems unlikely? This is how it is. Therefore, we must look at their recommendations with suspicion. The countries that today hold the largest share of this capital, namely the United States and some European countries, have committed the greatest crimes against humanity in the world. This is the case.

Now this gentleman wants to build a wall at the Mexican border; well, the lands that lie north of the Mexican border, all of these belong to Mexico, meaning California, Texas, these large states, all of these have belonged to Mexico and still belong to Mexico; the United States has taken them by force of war, by gun, by killing, and now wants to build a wall there! The issue is not about Trump; the issue is about the system, the issue is about the regime. This system that can deem it its right to seize the territory of a country, does it not deem it its right to influence their minds? You said that [this technology] can alleviate anxiety and fear; but it can also create anxiety and fear; it can influence decision-making; if it can, will it not do this? Certainly, it will; or those European countries: England in one way, France in another way, the rest in another way; well, they have a bad history in the world; we must always be suspicious of them.

Now they tell me you have suspicion; of course, I certainly have suspicion, [it is not] mere suspicion, but this suspicion or my certainty is not based on imagination, it is based on realities. Well, I know the details of France's actions in Algeria very well, the actions of England and France in North Africa, in various African countries, I know the performance of England in India, what crimes they have committed, in China likewise, in other parts of the world likewise; well, can we trust these governments, these systems, these regimes in sensitive and important planning like cognitive sciences? We cannot.

You must determine your own goals in this knowledge; in all areas of cognitive sciences, first set your goals to see what we want and what we are pursuing, then based on that goal-setting, you define the subject and project and want the scholars, students, researchers, youth, and the like to carry out this project. It should not be that you demand a project without having set goals; for example, suppose in universities, some people define a project of their own accord, come to you, for example, want to coordinate, work so that this project does not affect your puzzle and collection at all. First, define your table of what you want, what you want to do, then you can demand the cells of this table from this university, from that research center, and from that collection to prepare and bring for you. Therefore, this is also our second recommendation that you rely on yourselves, define a local strategy for advancing this knowledge, and based on that, compel the users to work.

And trust in God and be assured and make your intention for God. When I said invest your lives, well, for whom does one invest their life? One cannot invest their life for anyone but God; for the sake that in divine accounting, good deeds are preserved. If you work half an hour more than the time allotted to you and work better and more diligently, the person who entrusted the work to you may not even realize it, but it will be recorded in divine calculations; nothing is wasted; pay attention to this.

And also try that these sensitive sciences, which relate to the mind, thought, reasoning, decision-making, and knowledge, do not lead the youth astray; be careful! Move in such a way, based on a foundation, that as I mentioned at the beginning of the talk and as Dr. Khorrazi wrote at the beginning of this program on behalf of Amir al-Mu'minin, familiarity with these sciences and entering this field brings us closer to God, makes our youth more familiar with monotheism and divine knowledge; make this your goal. If you set this as your goal, then every hour you spend will be a lasting good deed, and the divine reward for it will be a very great reward, God willing. We also pray that God will grant you success, and we thank Dr. Setari, Dr. Khorrazi, and the rest of the gentlemen.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.