New Delhi, January 13 (UNI) At the ongoing World Book Fair 2026 in New Delhi, the Abu Dhabi-based Muslim Elders Council organised a panel discussion on “AI for Humanity: Religious Perspectives on Ethical AI”, chaired by former ambassador Dr. Zikrur Rehman, former Indian Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority and Consul General in Riyadh.
Sanjay Kapoor, veteran journalist and president of the Editors Guild of India, said that reporting is a profession with far greater power than Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, he cautioned, most news organisations today are now spending less on reporting and becoming increasingly dependent on the internet.
Quoting Elon Musk, Kapoor noted that in the future, jobs like plumbing may be safe, but journalism, especially roles limited to questioning, could be at risk. Kapoor added that, in fact, by doing so, the reporter is inadvertently strengthening AI.
Kapoor also warned about the dangers of AI and said that the media community in India is not fully aware of the dangers of AI. For example, ChatGPT, despite being two years old, can write better than a regular journalist. He cautioned that if journalism fails to preserve emotional depth, on-the-ground reporting, and human experience, AI could replace journalists without the public even realising it when and how it happened.
Kapoor stressed that there exists a dire need for regulation and oversight to control AI and unless developers and institutions take ethics and journalistic values seriously, misinformation will continue to spread.
Dr. Mudassar Qamar, Assistant Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, discussed AI’s evolving role in academics, calling it both a significant achievement and a cause for concern.
Today, there are AI tools that do everything from reference lists, literature reviews, and grammar checking, etc. Some students have become completely dependent on AI, which makes research dehumanised and uncreative, but it also offers positive aspects, such as supporting students with language difficulties.
Dr. Qamar emphasised that both teachers and students need to strike a balance between caution and responsible use of AI.
