The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak (Chief Mentor) Mohan Bhagwat has repeatedly brought up the issue of the ‘appropriate’ use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the larger good in the recent past. That brings to the fore the issue of AI ethics, as it would be the key factor in determining how it is used for governance in both the private sector as well as in the government apparatus in the long run, while sustaining a harmonious social order instead of disrupting it and creating chaos.
The issue was discussed at length in a global conference organised by the Oxford Dharma Centre for Research and Policy in the United Kingdom, in October 2025, where Dr. Arijit Patra and Nitish Rai Parwani presented a co-authored working paper.
Dr. Patra is a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, and Parwani is a D.Phil. scholar at the University of Oxford. The working paper they presented is of great significance for both India and the Global South, as it underlines major gaps in the ethical framework of AI due to the domination of the Western intellectual paradigm. This bias in the emerging AI ethics framework would have long-term consequences for India and the Global South if it isn’t corrected in time. This could be another wave of colonization and could lead to chaos and disruptions not only in our societies but even in the Western world.
In this context, it is important to look at AI ethics through the lens of ‘Dharma’.
Dharma in context of AI
Though ‘Dharma’ is a philosophical framework that encompasses a wide variety of subjects, in the context of AI ethics one can go by the definition provided by Professor Diwakar Nath Acharya at the University of Oxford. In his introduction to the compendium of working and research papers presented at the ‘Oxford Dharma Conference’ at ‘All Souls College’ in October 2025, he underlined: “Etymologically derived from the word dhr, Dharma literally means the one ‘that sustains’. It denotes a universal principle of sustainability that has been recognised, practised, and elaborated within diverse schools of thought in the Indosphere. At its core, the idea of Dharma represents the essential function of upholding order, balance, and integrity within existence and the web of relationships that constitute it.”
Dharma as a complementary framework for AI ethics
According to Patra and Parwani, though AI is a global technology, the ethical frameworks currently shaping its development remain predominantly grounded in post-Enlightenment Western philosophical assumptions, especially individualism, rights-based liberalism, and utilitarian reasoning. While these frameworks have produced valuable insights and regulatory tools, they inadequately address the long-term ethical challenges posed by socially embedded AI systems.
Empirical mapping of global AI guidelines reveals that many such principles that are described as “universal” do, in fact, largely reflect the normative vocabulary of Western More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs). This asymmetry is not just geopolitical; it shapes the conceptual boundaries of AI ethics by limiting what counts as a moral problem and what solutions are thinkable.
If we introduce Dharma as a complementary framework for AI ethics from a Global South perspective, it would contribute to three key shifts:
An ‘ontological shift’ from the isolated, atomistic individual to the relational self; a ‘teleological shift’ from merely preventing (non-maleficence) harm to promoting Yogakshema (welfare encompassing abhyudaya (material prosperity) and nihasreyasa (ultimate good)); and a ‘methodological shift’ from universal abstraction to context-sensitive judgement guided by desa-kaala-patra (place-time-agent).
Threats from a biased framework
Patra and Parwani have underlined the threats from a non-Dharmic AI ethics framework, which is currently being pursued. According to them, without deliberate, inclusive, and ethically grounded interventions, AI risks perpetuating existing power asymmetries, eroding trust, and undermining human agency. Conversely, if harnessed responsibly and equitably, AI holds the potential to solve some of humanity’s most pressing challenges—from climate change modelling and precision medicine to personalised education and economic empowerment—ushering in shared prosperity and flourishing.
Conclusion
The historical intellectual relationship between the West and the non-West is governed by a binary where the former is considered to be the creator and provider of all rational knowledge, whereas the latter is considered to be the repository of only mystical or spiritual knowledge. This relationship appears to be driving the framing of AI ethics as well. Thus, the universal principles being codified for AI ethics are based on the preferences of the Western world because of their economic and technological hegemony.
The integration of Dharma-based principles into the global discourse on AI ethics offers a vital framework that must be integrated with the existing western framework. It isn’t a substitute but must be treated as complementary to address the specific ontological, teleological, and methodological limitations of the prevailing Western paradigm.