International Symposium on Developments in Artificial Intelligence & Humanoid Technology
by Job Kozhamthadam
Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), accompanied by humanoid technology, are arguably the greatest achievement of human ingenuity to date. Thanks to these breath-taking breakthroughs, the claim is made that it is only a matter of time when human scientific prowess will have produced in its laboratory not only living beings, including humans, but also superhumans or posthumans. Recent amazing achievements like the humanoid Sophia, which was awarded Saudi citizenship in 2017, the humanoid Ameca, the world’s most advanced robot so far, the Chinese humanoid SEO1 with its ability to have a natural, human-like gait, and many others – each with its own specialties – seem to assure us that contemporary science’s claim is well within the reach of human ingenuity. As we rejoice and applaud the achievements of our scientists, several questions spontaneously spring up in our critical mind. How far and how soon will they be able to deliver on their promises? More importantly, how are these developments going to impact present-day humans, particularly in India and other developing countries where the number of unemployed, well-trained youth is steadily on the rise? How are these new products going to affect family life, interpersonal interactions, etc.? In the moral sphere, the fast-growing industry of sex robots raises serious questions regarding possible moral degradation. How are these developments going to affect religion, particularly the time-tested values, of which religion has been the age-old, successful custodian? Is there the danger of ‘science playing God’ becoming not just and ambitious aspiration, but an accomplished achievement? These issues are no more hypothetical questions, but real challenges to present-day society and individual humans. Effective and meaningful response to these and related issues is not easy to come by since we want science and technology to continue their progressive march without in any way destabilizing or hurting our human society, but enriching it and taking it to greater and happier heights. These and related issues were looked at professionally, studied seriously, discussed realistically and in a practice-oriented way by a team of international and national experts at a 3-day seminar, on 2-4 January, 2025, organized by IISR (Indian Institute of Science & Religion) Delhi, in collaboration with SJCET (St. Joseph’s College of Engineering & Technology), Palai, Kerala, India, on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Catholic Diocese of Palai.
Almost 200 specially invited scholars and senior students, mostly from engineering colleges of the State of Kerala, especially from computer science departments, attended this special event. The speakers included Dr. Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, Director, Vatican Observatory, Rome and Tucson, Arizona, USA, Dr. Roy Pereira, SJ, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, USA, Prof. Dr. Job Kozhamathadam, SJ, Director, Indian Institute of Science & Religion, Delhi, Prof. Dr. Sonajharia Minz, HOD Computer Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, etc. The event was preceded by a well-attended press conference by the local and national media, and the daily events were covered by the media.
IISR’s Ongoing Attempt to Keep Science-Religion Dialogue Up-to-Date in India
The mission or goal of IISR Delhi is to blend harmoniously the latest findings of contemporary science and technology with the time-tested principles and insights of religions to build up a better humanity, a better world, and for us Indians a better India in her multireligious, multicultural and multiracial fabric. Keeping this goal always in mind, for the last 25 years IISR has been taking up various cutting-edge developments in science and technology to explore ways and means of blending them with religious values and ethical principles. Specifically, for the last 2 years IISR has been focusing on the new ideas and techniques of Artificial Intelligence, particularly when they are linked with robotics and humanoid technology. It has been organizing several national and regional level conferences and seminars. The international symposium in Palai was the culmination of these initiatives.
Like other developments in science and technology, the emergence of AI and humanoid technology is also a mixed-bag with promises and perils. Obviously, in a case like this one has to skilfully and judiciously look for a happy balance between a genuine welcoming spirit towards the benefits it brings and a firm courageous critical spirit to disallow its harmful consequences. One of the principal roles of science-religion dialogue is to mediate and facilitate in this all-important balancing process. This is what the carefully chosen team of speakers did, each from his/her special area of specialization. In his keynote address, Job Kozhamthadam, after introducing the participants, especially the students, into the many intricacies of the AI-Revolution, pointed out that science is by humans and for humans, and so can never be allowed to bring harm to humans. This would entail that every step of the progress science makes be tempered by appropriate humane and ethical principles. For instance, in his view, as our universe contracts, thanks to the revolutionary developments, our hearts will have to expand to embrace all as brothers and sisters. IISR and its programs are geared to render this noble ideal a lived realty. Sangeetha Jose of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, Kerala, also gave a brief run through of the many positive benefits and the challenges this revolution poses to human society today. To maximize its well-effects and minimize its ill-effects, she suggested a Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HCAI), which focuses on designing AI systems that collaborate with humans rather than replace them. Guy Consolmagno shared some of his experiences with some of the founding fathers of AI when he was at MIT, Harvard, etc. He admired the incredible capability of AI to scan through massive data, but when it comes to recognizing something new to scan for, it becomes less useful. K. K. Jose and Binoy Jacob approached the theme from the perspective of their expertise in statistics. K. K. Jose focused on the role statistics plays in the AI-Revolution, particularly its role in big data analysis, Machine Learning (ML), etc. Binoy, in particular, discussed the contribution fuzzy logic can make to render AI application more accurate and realistic. Dolichan Kollareth, the President of the Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Pune, argued that any attempt at making AI-humanoids emotionally active and intelligently responsive to human emotions would be a formidable challenge. Focusing his paper on the internet of things, Victor Ferrao pointed out the great danger of this revolution jeopardizing human privacy, especially confidential personal information. Roy Pereira gave an impressive demonstration of how AI-assisted techniques can reproduce melodious music and other artistic creations. Sabarinath of SJCET in his thought-provoking presentation called for an explorative dialogue among all stakeholders to identify what is best for our world today. Sanajharia Minz approached the theme from the perspective of a Tribal woman in contemporary India. She suggested important ways of making Tribals, especially tribal women, an integral part of these new developments in science and technology.
India and the AI-Revolution
One of the principal reasons why IISR Delhi has been taking special interest in AI-Revolution was its remarkable relevance to India – positively and negatively. Positively, because India is widely recognized as a global powerhouse in the world of IT and AI. The statistics speak for themselves. Indian scientists’ dominant presence in some of the world’s topmost IT and AI centres is globally recognized. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, Shantanu Narayan, CEO of Adobe, and several others are all Indian origin experts in the field. According to some authoritative reports, about one-third of the technical employees in the Silicon Valley are also of Indian origin. Furthermore, India has an enviable 4th rank when it comes AI powerhouses, behind leading nations like the US, China and the UK.
But there is also the darker side of massive unemployment. It is true that AI and related developments do create new jobs. But compared to the number of jobs lost, especially in the unskilled job market, the loss far outweighs the gain. A Goldman Sachs report suggests that the number could be as high as 300 million. McKinsey & Company paint a still darker scenario of 400 to 800 million by 2030. India’s predicament becomes even more pathetic because many losing jobs are too old and too uneducated to learn any new trade, especially in the skilled sector. Several speakers referred to this tragic scenario.
Some Concluding Remarks
One of the emerging views of the participants was that while the AI-Revolution is indeed a crucial game changer in the history of human achievements, and we should salute and thank our scientists, its application must be governed by a realistic quest for the holistic and wholesome development of all stakeholders. This can be best achieved by an active and creative dialogue between scientists, well-informed thinkers and leaders in religious, political and other relevant fields. In fact, it may not be an exaggeration to say that in the AI-dominated world of ours, a creative, well-informed and openminded dialogue between science and religion, both understood from a broader perspective, is not just an option, but is fast becoming an obligation.
