The Office of Faculty Development and Welfare, MIT Manipal organised a Guest Talk titled AI and the Future of Humanity by Dr. Makarand R. Paranjape, Director of Education, Access Health Care Physicians, LLC, USA.
Dr Makarand R Paranjape captivated the audience with his critical analysis and forecast on the special challenges posed by ‘Human-competitive’ AI to the Humanities as a group of academic and human pursuits and to the homo sapiens species. He also narrated the 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. Referring to cinema such as the Terminator and the Matrix series, earlier novels like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Geoge Orwell’s 1984 he narrated how such issues are addressed in creative works.
Dr Makarand emphasized the importance of the Humanities and their constituent disciplines in safeguarding the future of humanity through criticism and creativity. Which in turn fosters deep cognition as opposed to pseudo-cognition. He opined that the most valuable area to understand and change the impact of AI would be consciousness studies, where India offers invaluable and extensive material. 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. 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.
Dr Makarand, said, “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. According to the speaker, the “solution” to the AI challenge 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 making AI to be 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.
The guests were welcomed by Dr. S. N. Bhat, Associate Director (Faculty Development and Welfare), who also gave the closing remarks, stressing the value of promoting interdisciplinary discussions. Dr. Somashekara Bhat, Joint Director, MIT Manipal, Associate Directors, Heads of departments and officials from other MAHE constituent units also attended the talk.
Event also saw the participation of about 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.
About Manipal Academy of Higher Education:
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is an Institution of Eminence Deemed-to-be University. MAHE offers over 400 specializations across the Health Sciences (HS), Management, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences (MLHS), and Technology & Science (T&S) streams; through its constituent units at campuses in Manipal, Mangalore, Bangalore, Jamshedpur, and Dubai. With a remarkable track record in academics, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and significant contributions to research, MAHE has earned recognition and acclaim both nationally and internationally. In October 2020, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, awarded MAHE the prestigious Institution of Eminence status. Currently ranked 4th in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), MAHE is the preferred choice for students seeking a transformative learning experience and an enriching campus life, as well as for national & multi-national corporates looking for top talent.
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