Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T20:13:07.623Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Hinduism and Artificial Intelligence

from Part I - Religions and AI

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2024

By
Robert M. Geraci  and
Stephen Kaplan
Edited by
Beth Singler  and
Fraser Watts
Beth Singler
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Fraser Watts
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Get access

Summary

This chapter explores the intersection of Hindu philosophy and practice with the development of artificial intelligence (AI). The chapter first introduces aspects of technological growth in Hindu contexts, including the reception of ‘Western’ ideas about AI in Hindu communities before describing key elements of the Hindu traditions. It then shows how AI technologies can be conceived of from a Hindu perspective and moves from there to the philosophical contributions Hinduism offers for global reflection on AI. Specifically, the chapter describes openings and contentions for AI in Hindu rituals. The focus is the use of robotics and/or AI in Hindu pūjā (worship of gods) and the key practice of darśan (mutual seeing) with the divine. Subsequently, the chapter investigates how Hindu philosophers have engaged the distinctive qualities of human beings and their investigation into body, minds and consciousness/awareness. The chapter concludes by raising questions for future research.

Keywords

Advaita Vedantadarshanhard problemJainismKalkimind–bodyNyayapuja
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Artificial Intelligence , pp. 33 - 49
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bibliography

Adhvarin, Dharmarāja Vedāntaparibhāṣā. 1971. Ed. and trans. Sastri, S. S. Suryanarayana, Adyar Library and Research Centre.Google Scholar
The Aitareya Āraṇyaka. 1909. Trans. Arthur B. Keith. Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Akbari, Suzanne. 2009. Idols in the East: European Representations of Islam and the Orient, 1100–1450. Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Bhojadeva., 1959. Sṛnׄgāramañjarīkathā. In Sṛnׄgāramañjarīkathā Paramāmara King Bhojadeva of Dhārā, ed. and trans. Munshi, Kumari Kalpalata K.. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.Google Scholar
Chalmers, David J. 1995. “Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness.” Journal of Consciousness Studies 2, 200–219.Google Scholar
Deccan Chronicle Staff. 2018. “Techno Artistic Ganesha: Watch Lord Ganesha Levitate, Robot Conduct Aarti.” Deccan Chronicle, 14 September. www.deccanchronicle.com/technology/in-other-news/140918/techno-artistic-ganesha-watch-lord-ganesha-levitate-robot-conduct-aa.html.Google Scholar
Geraci, Robert M. 2022. Futures of Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives from India and the United States. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimaud, Emmanuel. 2011. Gods and Robots, trans. Cunningham, Matthew. Grandmother India.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, Knut. 2018. “Pilgrimage Rituals and Technological Change: Alterations in the Shraddha Ritual at Kapilashramin in the Town of Siddhpur.” In Religion and Technology in India: Spaces, Practices and Authorities, ed. Jacobsen, Knut A. and Myrvold, Kristina. Routledge, 130–145.Google Scholar
Kaplan, Stephen. 2018. “Avidyā: The Hard Problem in Advaita Vedānta.” In The Routledge History of Indian Philosophy, ed. Bilimoria, Purushottama. Taylor and Francis Group.Google Scholar
Mishra, Rashmi. 2017. “Ganesh Aarti Video Featuring Robotic Hand Is Most Beautiful Sight This Ganesh Utsav 2017,” India.com. 31 August. www.india.com/viral/ganesh-aarti-video-featuring-robotic-hand-is-most-beautiful-sight-this-ganesh-utsav-2017-2440841/.Google Scholar
Raghavan, Venkatarama. 1952. Yantras or Mechanical Contrivances in Ancient Culture. Indian Institute of Culture.Google Scholar
Sarukkai, Sundar. 2008. “Culture of Technology and ICTs.” In ICTs and Indian Social Change: Diffusion, Poverty, Governance, ed. Saith, Ashwani, Vijayabaskar, M. and Gayathri, V.. Sage.Google Scholar
Srinivas, Tulasi. 2018. The Cow in the Elevator: An Anthropology of Wonder. Duke University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vidal, Denis 2007. “Anthropomorphism or Sub-anthropomorphism? An Anthropological Approach to Gods and Robots,” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 13 (2007): 917–933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Further Reading

Adas, Michael. 1989. Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance. Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Baber, Zaheer. 1996. The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization, and Colonial Rule in India. State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Basham, Arthur. L. 1991. The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cort, John. 2012. “Situating Darśan: Seeing the Digambar Jina Icon in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century North India.” International Journal of Hindu Studies 16(1), 1–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geraci, Robert M. 2018. Temples of Modernity: Nationalism, Hinduism, and Transhumanism in South Indian Science. Lexington.Google Scholar
Jacobs, Stephen. 2012. “Communicating Hinduism in a Changing Media Context.” Religion Compass 6(2), 136–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaini, Padmanabh S. 1979. The Jaina Path of Purification. University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kinsley, David R. 1993. Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective. Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
LeDoux, Joseph. 2019. The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains. Viking.Google Scholar
Michaels, Axel. 2016. Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parthasarathi, Prasannan. 2011. Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinha, Jadunath. 1958. Indian Psychology, vol. 1. Sinha Publishing House.Google Scholar
Subbarayappa, Bidare. V. 2013. Science in India: A Historical Perspective. Sage.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×