Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday called upon institutions like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to spearhead research into the social consequences of artificial intelligence, stressing that technology must be steered by human values and ethical considerations.
Addressing a global colloquium organized by TISS to celebrate its 90th anniversary, Pradhan highlighted that the world is confronting unprecedented challenges, including wars, migration, mental health issues, and disruptive technologies. He posed critical questions: "What will AI lead us to? Will it create new jobs? Will it create new business? Or will it take away our jobs?" He urged the colloquium to determine whether technology will be guided by human values or will chart its own path.
Pradhan emphasized that social science institutions bear a crucial responsibility in examining how emerging technologies are reshaping societies. "Human capability advances faster than social understanding," he remarked, adding that "sustainable progress requires modern capability, also social wisdom." He underscored the urgent need for social sciences to provide deeper ethical and societal insights in an era of rapid technological transformation. He also encouraged scholars from over 25 countries attending the event to study India's development experience as a global case study.
Call for Global Ranking Framework
Vineet Joshi, Secretary of Higher Education, called for "an urgent need to create an exclusive global ranking framework for the social sciences based on their contribution to theory, building interdisciplinary applications and social innovations." He stressed the importance of action-oriented, community-engaged research to tackle global challenges such as inequality, migration, climate change, conflict, and rapid urbanization. Joshi also advocated leveraging foreign campuses and global faculty to enhance the quality of social science research and teaching.
Formation of Global Social Science Association
TISS Vice-Chancellor Prof. Badri Narayan Tiwari announced the formation of the Global Social Science Association (GSSA) to serve as an international academic platform for exchanging ideas and conducting collaborative multidisciplinary research. The GSSA will be established in partnership with approximately 25 participating universities from India and abroad during the three-day Global Colloquium on 'Building Bridges in Social Sciences,' which was inaugurated on Monday. TISS Chancellor D. P. Singh was also present at the event.
Inauguration of Carbon Capture Facility
Earlier in the day, Pradhan inaugurated India's first integrated carbon capture and utilization (CCU) field laboratory facility under Bharat Innovates 2026 at IIT-Bombay's campus. The facility showcases a self-reliant, closed-loop carbon mitigation approach rooted in indigenous innovation.
