It was not very long ago that we proudly associated intelligence as a quality only with the human beings (though the concept was debatable and all other species chuckled on the weird thought from ants showing team spirit to dogs mastering emotional intelligence, all possess the faculty to varying degrees). Speaking of mankind, the society admired the one with a sharp mind as ‘samajhdaar bachcha’, the ‘tez dimaag’ student, or the ‘anubhav se bhara buzurg’ was used for someone whose wisdom came from lived experience. Today, intelligence carries a new adjective, ‘Artificial’. Then we saw Artificial Intelligence (AI) entering our homes, our phones, our classrooms, and even our daily conversations, very slowly and humbly, without any formal introduction even. Today it has subtly shifted from being only a supportive tool to becoming a default dependency in many aspects of daily life.
Many people of my age group or slightly older still remember the day the first television arrived at home. People of our parents’ generation recall when mobile phones were considered unnecessary luxuries.
Today, their grandchildren anxiously ask, “Network chala gaya kya?” as if a vital lifeline has been interrupted.
This article is neither an expression of fear nor blind celebration of AI. It is an attempt to understand how this new “member” of society is already shaping the lives, relationships, and thinking patterns of people across generations, senior citizens, parents, youth, kids and the wider community, while raising essential moral, ethical and educational questions.
I have seen my elders often say, “Humare time mein yeh sab nahin hota tha,” and they are absolutely right. Yet, many of the same elders today video-call their children and grandchildren living thousands of kilometres away, listen to old film songs on YouTube, receive pension updates digitally, and rely on mobile reminders for medicines. Even for more elderly generation, AI often works quietly in the background. Voice assistants read messages aloud, suggest devotional content, and simplify daily routines. Sometimes it is amusing, yet so inspiring, to see an old granny using technology to get a correct spelling or better expression than younger family members. This is when wisdom meets technology!
However, at the same time, elders voice a concern that deserves serious reflection,
“Bachche apne phone se zyada baat karte hain, insaanon se kam.”
Yes! This concern is genuine. Technology, no matter how advanced, should never replace human warmth, shared meals, or casual conversations with family on the veranda or in the living room. From an ethical viewpoint, AI must remain a support system to enhance human capabilities, not as a replacement for human connections. In the current scenario of fast technological development, it seems challenging to preserve emotional and social literacy.
Parents of youngsters today occupy a delicate emotional space, they invariably seem half proud, half worried.
They see their children confidently navigating diverse digital platforms, attending online courses across different Universities, learning new skills, and preparing for careers that did not exist even a decade ago.
At the same time, a persistent question arises, “Itna sab phone pe… padhai ho rahi hai ya bas dikh rahi hai?” “Yeh to phone pe hi rehti hai”!
AI-powered tools can undoubtedly enhance the learning experience, explaining concepts, simplifying complexities, assisting with language acquisition, preparing presentations, and offering career guidance. When used wisely, they can act as powerful academic companions. However, parents and teachers also sense the danger of over-dependence. When answers arrive instantly, patience diminishes also the quest for knowledge suffers. When solutions are suggested automatically, independent thinking weakens. This is where value-based education becomes crucial. Parents must not fear AI, but they must also not surrender to it. Conversations in the family should extend beyond marks and the kids should be taught the value of life, importance of family, relations, honesty, curiosity, effort, and ethical judgment, that there is more meaning and joy in journey and pursuit of knowledge beyond their screens.
One more interesting fact, you will agree, is that for the common citizen, AI has not arrived with technical buzzwords but it has arrived with convenience. A shopkeeper may not understand algorithms, but digital payments work seamlessly for him. A farmer may not speak of machine learning, but weather apps guide his daily decisions. A homemaker may not know how voice assistants function, yet enjoys asking, “Aaj kya banau?”
Across towns and villages AI has quietly reduced distances between citizens and services. “Pehle line mein lagna padta tha, ab bas login karna padta hai” is a commonly heard sentence.
AI has also entered cultural and creative spaces. Today, young people remix folk songs with ease, edit videos of local festivals, and share regional traditions with global audiences. Heritage now meets hashtags, and storytelling finds new platforms. Yet, there is a subtle challenge. Filters perfect the appearances of people, lives look cinematic, and silent comparisons creep in “Asli kaunsa hai?” becomes a genuine question.
Even when one scrolls through the Instagram one finds an endless loop of reels, music videos, or trending Punjabi and North Indian pop tracks, and a familiar aesthetic repeats itself with striking ease, show of glamour everywhere, luxury cars, neon-lit nights, designer labels flashing under party lights, comedy, constant enjoyment.
Everything stands in for success, confidence, freedom and high fashion statements.
Here, educators and families play a vital role, reminding the younger generation that real life is not edited and self-worth is not measured in likes or views. Ethical awareness and moral education while using digital spaces is now imperative.
In my opinion, one of the most profound changes AI has introduced and the one that is rarely discussed is that for the first time, humans are being shaped by the tools they created, not just in habits, but in thinking itself. AI does not merely assist; it suggests, predicts, and nudges. It recommends what we read, watch, buy, and sometimes even think. Over time, an important question emerges: “Are we using AI as a guide, or are we slowly allowing it to guide us?”
I do not say this is inherently dangerous but it demands awareness. Education today must teach in a new way, in the new normal times not just how to use AI, but how to question it, pause before accepting its suggestions, and retain independent judgment.
If we have to align this directly with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises holistic development, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and character formation over rote learning. Education must now prioritise what machines cannot replace, empathy that cannot be coded, ethics that cannot be automated, responsibility that cannot be outsourced and wisdom that develops only through reflection.
It is vital that we make them realize that the purpose of education in the 21st century extends far beyond the accumulation of information or success in examinations. Prepare them to face challenges that life offers at every step with humility, courage, compassion, empathy, perseverance, integrity and self-worth.
With senior citizens offering patience and perspective, parents providing emotional grounding and values, it would not be difficult for the young to carry themselves forward in energy, innovation, technology along with responsibility and gratitude thus enabling themselves to build meaningful lives.
Let us ensure that as the world grows smarter, it also grows wiser.
After all “Machine update ho sakta hai, par insaan ka character hi asli software hota hai” . And that, thankfully, remains fully human. |
