AI is disruptive, must be backed by ethics, says union education minister

The Association’s secretariat will initially be hosted by TISS, and it will operate on a rotating model to ensure broader global participation and shared institutional ownership.

The Association will promote partnerships among universities and institutions associated with TISS on poverty, health, human development, migration, peace, geopolitics and diplomacy, as stated by Badri Narayan Tiwari.

The proposed Global Social Science Association was announced as an international academic platform for collaborative research and partnerships addressing issues in the Global South.

Badri Narayan Tiwari urged questioning Eurocentric frameworks and promoting indigenous knowledge systems and postcolonial experiences to decolonise social sciences and create a more inclusive global academic order.

Vineet Joshi, secretary of the higher education department, said the government envisions a knowledge-centered society where social science research contributes to sustainable development, social justice and community resilience.

He declared that the world is increasingly looking towards the Indian development model, especially in the Global South.

Pradhan touted India’s governance and development journey over the last decade as worthy of a global case study, citing digital expansion, vaccine production during Covid-19, startup growth and democratic institutions.

He highlighted historic centres of learning such as Nalanda, Takshashila and Pushpagiri as examples of cross-cultural intellectual exchange and knowledge creation.

Drawing from India's civilisational traditions, Pradhan used the Mahabharata to explain the deeper meaning of dialogue and deliberation, noting how discussions on peace and diplomacy emerged from crisis.

Pradhan credited institutions like TISS with translating 'social responsibility into lived practice' through public engagement and crisis response, from disasters to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He described social science as an 'intangible heritage' that shapes the moral direction of society and influences public engagement and crisis response.

Pradhan stated that social sciences must guide technological progress with ethics, human values and social wisdom to ensure that development remains inclusive and human-centric.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the international colloquium at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, describing Artificial Intelligence as an inevitable and disruptive technology and urging that social sciences guide technological progress with ethics, human values and social wisdom to ensure development remains inclusive and human-centric.