RECONCEPTUALIZING AI ETHICS IN THE LIGHT OF DHARMA

Abstract

Conversations around the ethical aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have grown in tandem with the increased adoption of AI technologies. Current approaches to AI ethics have been criticized for being ineffectual and for serving corporate interests. Mainstream ethics, which forms the dominant basis of AI ethics, is largely rooted in Western thought. Perspectives from the Global South, including Indian ethical traditions, remain largely absent from this discourse. This study proposes a reconceptualization of AI ethics rooted in Bharatiya epistemic traditions, using Nyaya-shastra’s pancha-avayava (five-step reasoning) framework. Adopting a bottom-up analytical approach, the study begins with the foundational concept of dharma and progressively extends through general ethics and digital ethics to AI ethics. A Nyaya-based framework, with dharma as its foundation, envisions an ethical trajectory aligned with an Indian epistemic worldview. This in turn will help India develop indigenous and culturally-sensitive AI literacy programs.