AI Narratives in India
March 11-12
16:30-20:00 IST / 11:00-14:30 GMT
Platform: Zoom (Register for a link)
Language: English (with simultaneous translation to Hindi for Panel IV)
Day 1
Thursday, March 11
INTRODUCTIONS (16:30-16:45 IST / 11:00-11:15 GMT)
Welcome to the workshop
Patrick French, Dean of School of Arts and Sciences at Ahmedabad University
Huw Price, Academic Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence; Professor of philosophy, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
Introduction to Ahmedabad University and AI in India
Pankaj Chandra, Vice Chancellor, Ahmedabad University
What is CFI and the Global AI Narratives Project
Kanta Dihal, Senior Research Fellow, Project Lead on Global Narratives, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge.
PANEL I - AI in Indian Science Fiction and Imagination (16:45-18:15 IST / 11:15-12:45 GMT)
Moderator: Kanta Dihal
Speaker 1: Samit Basu, Author of Gameworld Trilogy
Speaker 2: Divya B, Author of Machinehood (pre-recorded conversation)
Speaker 3: Tanuj Solanki, Author of The Machine is Learning
Discussion Questions:
Is there an absence of narratives around artificial intelligence in Indian traditions, compared to the futuristic and sci-fi writing of East Asia and Anglo-America? If so, what may explain the absence?
Does Indian science fiction literature link to mythological traditions in India?
What would make for a uniquely Indian science fiction literature about AI?
BREAK (18:15-18:30 IST / 12:45-13:00 GMT) (15min)
PANEL II - History and Philosophy of AI in India (18:30-20:00 IST / 13:00-14:30 GMT)
Moderator: Stephen Cave, Executive Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence
Speaker 1: Arun Sukumar, PhD Candidate, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Speaker 2: Noopur Raval, postdoctoral researcher, AINow Institute, New York University
Speaker 3: Daud Ali, associate professor, South Asian Studies Department, University of Pennsylvania
Discussion Questions:
How do different cultures and regions in India perceive the risks and benefits of AI, and what are the influences that have shaped these perceptions?
What narratives of other non-human intelligences, such as supernatural beings, exist in Indian culture (including literature, mythology, etc.)? How do these narratives evolve and shape people's view of artificial intelligence in today's society?
How might the rest of the world benefit from Indian perspectives on (philosophies and narratives) of living with non-human intelligences?
CLOSING REMARKS (20:00-20:05)
Patrick French
Day 2
Friday, March 12
SUMMARY & INTRODUCTIONS (16:30-16:35 IST / 11:00-11:05 GMT)
Kanta Dihal
PANEL III - Conceptual Perspectives on UIDAI and Aadhaar (16:35-18:05 IST / 11:05-12:35 GMT )
Moderator: Patrick French, Dean of School of Arts and Sciences
Speaker 1: Srikanth Nadhamuni, CEO, Khosla Labs
Speaker 2: Chinmayi Arun, resident fellow of the Information Society Project, Yale Law School
Speaker 3: Ram Sewak Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority; former Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
Discussion Questions
How was a biometric-based Identity Management system for India’s 1.3 billion population first conceptualised, designed, and developed?
How have different groups within the Indian public responded at various stages to the introduction and adoption of the UIDAI system?
Do public perspectives on Aadhaar influence or align with people’s hopes and fears for AI technologies?
BREAK (18:05-18:20 IST / 12:35-12:50 GMT) (15min)
PANEL IV - Roundtable - Responses to AI and Science Fact-Fiction in Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam Literature (18:20-19:50 IST / 12:50-14:20 GMT)
This Panel will have simultaneous translation to Hindi.
Moderator: Tejaswini Niranjana, Department Head, Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong; Visiting Professor, Ahmedabad University
Speaker 1: Manoj Kumar Pandey, Author of Badalta Hua Desh: Swarndesh Ki Lok Kathayen
Speaker 2: Shiju Sam Varughese, Assistant professor, Centre for Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy in the School of Social Sciences, Central University of Gujarat
Speaker 3: Samrat Sengupta, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of English at Sammilani Mahavidyalaya under University of Calcutta
Discussion Questions
How have the literary cultures of different languages in India responded to the provocations posed by the growth and spread of AI technology?
Which literary conventions have been more open to narrativising science and AI as compared to others which have been less open and receptive to the technology?
What is the current state of engagement with AI related themes and science fiction in Indian languages?
CONCLUDING REMARKS (19:50-19:55 IST / 14:20-14:25 GMT)
Kanta Dihal and Patrick French