Speaker: Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya, Professor, Dept. of CSE, IIT-Kanpur
The 4th lecture in the series was delivered by Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya on the topic “Sanskrit & AI: LLMs, Language Technologies & Computational Applications.” The session offered a fresh perspective on Artificial Intelligence beyond the usual focus on bigger models and more data. Prof. Bhattacharya noted that modern LLMs are fundamentally statistical systems trained on vast quantities of data. Indian language sciences, in contrast, offer centuries of insight into grammar, semantics, and structured knowledge representation. He emphasized that language is far more than word prediction, and that Indian languages possess a deeper structural unity than is often recognised. He further highlighted that knowledge graphs derived from Sanskrit texts can make traditional knowledge more searchable and machine-readable. He cautioned that AI for Indian languages cannot simply be built by translating English-centric approaches. He pointed to significant opportunities for Sanskrit scholars, linguists, and AI researchers to collaborate in shaping future language technologies. The lecture ultimately moved beyond the narrow narrative of “jobs in Sanskrit.” It showed how Sanskrit studies can engage with some of today’s most advanced technological challenges, demonstrating that tradition and technology can enrich one another rather than stand opposed.