AI era needs ethical philosophy, not just profits: Nitin Seth

United News of India

2 days ago

Bengaluru, Aug 13 (UNI) Nitin Seth, author of The Human Edge in the AI Age, says that in the noisy and fast-paced digital world, spirituality is becoming a vital leadership skill.
In his Mantra 3 — Connect with the Self through Spirituality — Seth argues that the artificial intelligence era is not only a technological revolution but also a test of human focus, clarity, and ethics.
'In the age of AI, we live in a digital barrage—our attention spans and ability to reflect are declining rapidly,' Seth explained replying to an UNI query on the sidelines of his book launch here.
'Silence is the antidote, and it's not about withdrawing from the world but going inside yourself. Spirituality is that process of connecting within, whether through meditation, yoga, gardening, swimming, or running. When you find inner silence, you find clarity; with clarity comes creativity, which is essential in a complex world.'
Drawing on Indian philosophical traditions, Seth blends concepts like dharma, artha, kama, and moksha into his leadership approach. He stressed that dharmab— doing the right thing and aligning with the laws of nature—is particularly relevant to the AI era. 'AI amplifies distortions. Without ethical safeguards, its ripple effects can be massive. Dharma must be embedded into AI design and boardroom decisions. It's not just about profit maximisation but about sustainable, responsible action,' he said.
Seth revealed that his own leadership style has been shaped by nearly 40 years of daily meditation and over four decades of involvement with The Art of Living. 'If I have a critical meeting, I meditate beforehand. Things just tend to flow better. Success is personal, but for me, this inner practice is a constant source of effectiveness,' he noted.
Moving beyond spirituality, Seth addressed the challenges facing India's workforce. He said that while the country has 'great intrinsic talent,' the services sector often stifles young professionals' creativity within a few years by reducing them to efficient executors rather than problem-solvers. 'We have focused too much on building technical skills, not enough on creativity, risk-taking, and innovation,' he warned.
He called for a transformation in the education system to prioritize soft skills alongside hard skills and urged greater accessibility to AI infrastructure such as GPUs, computing power, and storage, which remain prohibitively expensive for many innovators.
One of the key motivations behind writing the book, Seth said, was alarming data showing that by 2040, half of India's jobs could disappear due to AI and automation. 'That number is likely to be more, not less. It shook me, and I felt I had to do something about it,' he said, adding that his wife encouraged him to create a guide for their children to navigate the emerging world.
On reader response, Seth said that spirituality and sports were the most widely appreciated themes in the book. 'Hundreds of comments on social media highlight these two mantras in particular,' he said.
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