Former West Bengal governor urges universities to treat AI as an instrument, not a master, and produce ideal citizens not mere graduates
Bengaluru, August 10, 2026: After gains in making education accountable, India must now confront the quality of learning as AI-enabled shortcuts threaten students’ ability to think independently, former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said at Vidyashilp University’s first convocation.
“A great victory has been achieved in making education accountable,” Gandhi said, “but there is something else called the quality of education.”
“Our ability to think for ourselves is being benumbed by the automatic availability of digital, cyber and artificially created options,” he said. “That is not education. It is deception. You have to be very conscious of this.”
Gandhi said AI should be regarded “not as a master, only as an instrument” and urged students to “let education come from life, not its artificial equivalent.” He also called on universities to help students develop the ability to reason and the spirit of democracy, and to produce ideal citizens, not merely ideal graduates.
Reflecting on Karnataka’s legacy, Gandhi told the graduates, “What a privilege it is for you to belong to the state of Karnataka.” Marking National Handloom Day, he invoked Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay’s contribution to the freedom movement and her commitment to handlooms, gender equity, gender justice and human rights.
He also referred to constitutional adviser B. N. Rau and Justice K. S. Hegde, adding, “Becoming guardians of the Constitution is a responsibility that automatically comes to you today.”
The university conferred undergraduate degrees at a ceremony held on August 7 at the Dr. P. Dayananda Pai Auditorium, Vidyashilp Academy, Bengaluru.
The graduating cohort comprised 42 students from the School of Engineering and Technology, 21 from the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, five from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and two from the School of Design.
Aman Kumar, who secured the highest CGPA in the B.Tech (Hons.) Computer Science and Engineering (Data Science) programme, received the Chancellor’s Medal and delivered the valedictory address.
The graduating cohort’s work also included AI applications designed for public systems. Aman Kumar and Amar Singh received special recognition from the jury for an AI and machine-learning system that converts voice complaints into categorised tickets, designed to help Indian Railways process customer grievances. Olavu Chaluvaraju, Shreya Bikshavarthy Math and Joshitha S developed a predictive AI model for GST analytics during a national hackathon.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. P. G. Babu said the university had designed its curriculum to prevent disciplinary silos. “At VU, our interdisciplinary way of teaching is our greatest strength. Our students do not study in silos,” he said.
The university’s academic model combines a liberal arts core with majors, minors and interdisciplinary centres, allowing students to connect fields including AI, psychology, economics, law, finance, design and data science.
Addressing the graduating students, Chancellor Dr. P. Dayananda Pai urged them to become self-reliant, create jobs and remain relevant as the nature of work changes. He said their aim should not simply be to consume knowledge, but to create knowledge and new forms of thinking.
Dr. Pai said Vidyashilp University had grown from 70 students in 2022 to approximately 650 students, while its faculty strength had increased from 22 to 82 and its staff from 23 to 170. Around 70 per cent of its faculty members now hold PhDs, he said.
The ceremony was also attended by Pro-Chancellor Dr. Kiran Pai, Registrar T. R. Ramakrishnan, members of the Board of Governors and Academic Council, faculty, students, parents and other guests.
About Vidyashilp University
Vidyashilp University is a multidisciplinary university in Bengaluru with schools of Engineering and Technology, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Law, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Design. Its academic model combines disciplinary depth with a liberal arts core, interdisciplinary centres, applied research and public-facing initiatives.
