logo
SGPC flags distortion of Sikh history, Gurbani by AI tools

SGPC flags distortion of Sikh history, Gurbani by AI tools

Hindustan Times20 hours ago
Taking serious note of complaints regarding alleged dissemination of misinformation related to Gurbani, Sikh history and principles through Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has approached multiple AI platforms with objections. The SGPC had received numerous objections in this regard and had formally asked the AI platforms via e-mail to take immediate corrective measures.
The SGPC has written to ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Grok, Gemini AI, Meta, Google, VEO 3, Descript, Runway ML, Pictory, Magisto, InVideo, DALL·E 2, MidJourney and DeepAI, among others.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said in this era of technology, distorted depictions of Sikh Gurus and historical narratives through AI-generated content, especially altered images, had deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community.
He emphasised that the Guru Granth Sahib was the supreme authority for Sikhs, and no tampering of its sacred verses was permissible. However, certain AI applications were presenting distorted versions of Gurbani, which amounted to disrespect and sacrilege.
He added that the SGPC had received numerous objections in this regard and had formally asked the AI platforms via e-mail to take immediate corrective measures.
Dhami also appealed to the Sikh community to avoid relying on such apps for spiritual learning, and instead consult authentic historical sources for accurate knowledge about Sikh history and traditions.
The SGPC president has also appealed to home minister Amit Shah, asking the government to take official cognisance of this sensitive matter and frame a concrete policy to curb such practices.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Apple CEO Tells Staff AI Is ‘Ours to Grab' in Hourlong Pep Talk
Apple CEO Tells Staff AI Is ‘Ours to Grab' in Hourlong Pep Talk

Mint

timean hour ago

  • Mint

Apple CEO Tells Staff AI Is ‘Ours to Grab' in Hourlong Pep Talk

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, holding a rare all-hands meeting following earnings results, rallied employees around the company's artificial intelligence prospects and an 'amazing' pipeline of products. The executive gathered staff at Apple's on-campus auditorium Friday in Cupertino, California, telling them that the AI revolution is 'as big or bigger' as the internet, smartphones, cloud computing and apps. 'Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab,' Cook told employees, according to people aware of the meeting. 'We will make the investment to do it.' The iPhone maker has been late to AI, debuting Apple Intelligence months after OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Microsoft Corp. and others flooded the market with products like ChatGPT. And when Apple finally released its AI tools, they fell flat. But Cook struck an optimistic tone, noting that Apple is typically late to promising new technologies. 'We've rarely been first,' the executive told staffers. 'There was a PC before the Mac; there was a smartphone before the iPhone; there were many tablets before the iPad; there was an MP3 player before iPod.' But Apple invented the 'modern' versions of those product categories, he said. 'This is how I feel about AI.' An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the gathering. The hourlong meeting addressed a range of topics, including the retirement of operating chief Jeff Williams, increasing Apple TV viewership and advances in health care with features like the AirPods Pro hearing-aid technology. It also touched on donations and community service by Apple employees, the company's goal to become carbon neutral by 2030, and the impact of regulations. 'The reality is that Big Tech is under a lot of scrutiny around the world,' Cook said. 'We need to continue to push on the intention of the regulation and get them to offer that up, instead of these things that destroy the user experience and user privacy and security.' Cook often holds town hall-style chats when visiting Apple's offices around the world, but companywide meetings from the Steve Jobs Theater at headquarters are unusual. The remarks followed a blockbuster earnings report, with sales growing nearly 10% during the June quarter. That beat Wall Street expectations and eased concerns about iPhone demand and a slowdown in China. Apple still faces myriad challenges, including Trump administration tariffs and a regulatory crackdown on its business practices. The company said Thursday that tariffs would bring a $1.1 billion headwind this quarter, though Apple was upbeat about sales growth. It also said that App Store revenue rose by a percentage in the double digits last quarter, despite efforts in the EU and elsewhere to further restrict that business. Echoing comments he made during the earnings conference call, Cook told employees the company is investing in AI in a 'big way.' He said 12,000 workers were hired in the last year, with 40% of the new hires joining in research and development roles. Apple's chip development efforts, led by executive Johny Srouji, are key to the company's AI strategy, Cook said. Apple is working on a more powerful cloud-computing chip — code-named Baltra — to power artificial intelligence features, Bloomberg News has reported. It's also setting up a new AI server manufacturing facility in Houston. The meeting included Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, who discussed the future of Apple's Siri voice assistant. The company had planned to roll out a Siri overhaul as part of Apple Intelligence earlier this year, adding the ability to tap into user data to better fulfill requests. It was delayed, spurring management changes for the company's AI work. Federighi explained that the problem was caused by trying to roll out a version of Siri that merged two different systems: one for handling current commands — like setting timers — and another based on large language models, the software behind generative AI. 'We initially wanted to do a hybrid architecture, but we realized that approach wasn't going to get us to Apple quality,' Federighi said. Now, Apple is working on a version of Siri that moves to an entirely new architecture for all of its capabilities. That iteration is slated for as early as spring, Bloomberg News has reported, though Apple executives haven't confirmed a timeline other than a release next year. 'The work we've done on this end-to-end revamp of Siri has given us the results we needed,' the engineering executive told employees. 'This has put us in a position to not just deliver what we announced, but to deliver a much bigger upgrade than we envisioned. There is no project people are taking more seriously.' Federighi cited leadership changes, including putting Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell and his headset software leadership team in charge of Siri, as a driving force in improving the product. He said Rockwell and his group have 'supercharged' the company's work in the area. In his speech, Cook also pushed employees to move more quickly to weave AI into their work and future products. 'All of us are using AI in a significant way already, and we must use it as a company as well,' Cook said. 'To not do so would be to be left behind, and we can't do that.' Employees should push to deploy AI tools faster, and urge their managers and service and support teams to do the same, he said. Cook also addressed the company's retail strategy, stressing that the current plan is to focus on opening new stores in emerging markets and upping the investment in Apple's online store. The iPhone maker is opening outlets in India, the United Arab Emirates and China this year, and is preparing to add its first location in Saudi Arabia next year. 'We need to be in more countries, and you'll see us go into more emerging markets in particular,' Cook said. That doesn't mean Apple will ignore other places, he said, but a 'disproportionate amount of growth' will be in new areas. The CEO also shared his enthusiasm about upcoming products, though he didn't get specific. 'I have never felt so much excitement and so much energy before as right now,' he said. Bloomberg News has previously reported that Apple plans to launch its first foldable iPhone next year and is also working on a stream of smart home devices. New headset products, smart glasses, a push into robotics and a redesigned iPhone for the two-decade anniversary are also underway. 'The product pipeline, which I can't talk about: It's amazing, guys. It's amazing,' Cook said. 'Some of it you'll see soon, some of it will come later, but there's a lot to see.' More stories like this are available on

ChatGPT is second most-used tool for learning new skills for students at IIT Bombay
ChatGPT is second most-used tool for learning new skills for students at IIT Bombay

Indian Express

time4 hours ago

  • Indian Express

ChatGPT is second most-used tool for learning new skills for students at IIT Bombay

ChatGPT, the popular generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot, has emerged as the second most-used tool for learning new skills among students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay—after online platforms like Coursera. This was revealed as Insight – the institute's official student media body, released its Senior Survey 2025 report on Friday. The findings are based on responses from 282 students. Of the 272 students who answered the question, 'How did you generally study/learn new skills in the institute?', 118 cited online platforms, while 65 mentioned ChatGPT. Only 9 students said they used library books—the traditional method of learning new things in university settings. Despite AI tools becoming prevalent in university settings, ChatGPT remains underutilized in certain areas. Out of 138 respondents to the question on – in which situations have you not used ChatGPT ever – 89 said that they have not used it for resume-making. Whereas only 46 said that they have not used it for assignments and projects. As respondents of the Senior Survey are soon to enter the workforce, it is important to note that 'work-life balance' and 'a career aligned with one's skill set' have emerged as top priorities—ranking higher than financial compensation. Factors like location of posting and work culture were deemed less important. Among 269 respondents for a question on important factors to consider when choosing career – 29.4 percent ranked work-life balance highest. Separately, over 40 percent of 262 respondents said a career aligned with their skill set was most important. Contrary to the perception that IIT Bombay students often move away from core engineering, the survey shows that out of the 282 students who responded to the question on their immediate plans after graduation – 67 said they would continue in core engineering, while 66 planned to stay in technology. When asked about interest in their core branch, 135 of 277 respondents said they were and still are inclined to pursue it. However, 58 said they had lost interest, while 65 admitted they were never inclined in their field of study. Whereas 19 students said that they were not interested in their core branch before but are now keen to pursue.

Service Norms of Akal Takht jathedar: SGPC removes GNDU V-C from panel days after his interaction with RSS chief
Service Norms of Akal Takht jathedar: SGPC removes GNDU V-C from panel days after his interaction with RSS chief

Indian Express

time5 hours ago

  • Indian Express

Service Norms of Akal Takht jathedar: SGPC removes GNDU V-C from panel days after his interaction with RSS chief

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Friday removed Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Karamjit Singh from the committee formed to frame service norms for the Akal Takht's Jathedar, the move coming days after he made some comments during a discussion with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, which have been perceived as offensive to the sentiments of the Sikh community. 'A video circulating on social media shows Dr Karamjit Singh expressing views aligned with an anti-Sikh ideology during his conversation with the head of the RSS,' SGPC secretary Partap Singh said. 'In light of objections raised by the community, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami has taken the step to remove Dr Karamjit Singh from the aforementioned committee,' he added. The Akal Takht in July 2004, had issued a directive asking all Sikhs to remain cautious about the activities of RSS and its Sikh wing — Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. The directive was issued as both bodies were at the time taking proactive steps to celebrate 400th anniversary of first installation of Guru Granth Sahib, something that had irked the Akal Takht. The GNDU, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that the Vice-Chancellor had attended a programme organised by Amrita University, Kochi, which brought together V-Cs from various institutions. 'The purpose of this gathering was to strengthen academic collaboration and share information about initiatives being undertaken at their respective universities,' it said. During the event, V-C Singh shared details about the institution's efforts to digitize the Punjabi language as a response to modern needs, environmental initiatives inspired by Sri Guru Har Rai Ji, and the university's role in promoting Sikh philosophy, it said. The university further said that misleading statements based on incomplete information about the event are being circulated on social media, and such claims are far from the truth. The university urged the public not to believe or spread unverified or misleading information. Earlier, Punjab Congress MLA Pargat Singh had raised objections after a video purportedly showing GNDU V-C briefing Bhagwat at the Mysuru event on July 28 surfaced. The allaged interaction took place at the 'Gyan Sabha – Education for Viksit Bharat', an event organised by Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at BN Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences (BNBIMS). The event focused on the role of education in building a developed India. Pargat criticised the Punjab government, accusing it of ideological alignment with the RSS. Taking to X, he posted: 'When GNDU's Vice-Chancellor is seen abjectly explaining things to the RSS chief, it raises serious questions. It shows how the AAP government in Punjab has helped the RSS to take control of the entire education system, including universities, in Punjab.' The video shared by the legislator purportedly shows the V-C rising from his seat in the audience and informing the RSS chief about initiatives at the university, including the introduction of a compulsory PhD course on Bharatiya Parampara (Indian tradition) and the establishment of a Sikh Chair aimed at studying the connections between the Rigveda and the teachings of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev. Pargat Singh further alleged that the AAP government had already displayed its alignment with right-wing policies by implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) in the state. The Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas was established in 2007 as an extension of the Shiksha Bachao Andolan, and has since emerged as the RSS's principal platform for educational outreach. It promotes value-based education, textbook reforms, and the revival of Indian knowledge systems.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store