MIT Manipal organises guest talk on AI, future of humanity

NEW DELHI: The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT Manipal) has organised a guest talk on artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of humanity. The discussion in the conference throws light on the increasing challenges by human-competitive AI to humans as a group of academic and human pursuits.

One of the speakers, Makarand R Paranjape, director of education, access health care physician, LLC, USA, during a speech at the conference, emphasised on plausible threat of making many jobs and functions redundant or obsolescent by AI and how AI-enabled robotics would upend the very idea of what it means to be human.

Paranjape also narrated how movies such as Terminator and the Matrix series, and novels like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Geoge Orwell’s 1984 have addressed the AI issue in a creative way.

“AI’s real threat is profoundly human in nature rather than just technology. For humans to survive in this ‘human competitive’ AI era, we need to focus on the development of human awareness first,” he added.

The speaker also suggested that while traditionally Indian “Gurus” advocate the yogic path to transformation, we need to extend their wisdom-methods to machines and AI too.

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He also said that autonomous AI may be a programming nightmare and metaphysical conundrum, but if we understand that consciousness is not an object but the first and ultimate subject, we would not be afraid of AI leading to AC—artificial consciousness.

Concluding his speech, Paranjape also gave the ‘solution to the AI challenge’ by stating that it is not found in changing technology but in transforming the human being.

A transformed collective global consciousness as advocated by Sri Aurobindo would also help make AI to be a useful servant rather than the dangerous master of mankind. But to achieve that, we must see this crisis as the means to transform ourselves first, he added.

The MIT Manipal-led event also saw participation from 50 faculty members and research scholars. The audience and speaker engaged in dialogue throughout the Q&A session, and the conversation was enhanced by insightful discussions.

S N Bhat, associate director (faculty development and welfare), gave the closing remarks, by saying about the value of promoting interdisciplinary discussions. While, Somashekara Bhat, joint director, MIT Manipal, associate directors, heads of departments and officials from other MAHE constituent units also attended the talk.