BHUBANESWAR, July 9: New technological developments are providing capabilities to society, but at the same time, they are also creating new challenges for humanity, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday.
Murmu was addressing the 13th graduation ceremony of the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar.
“Today, very rapid changes are taking place in the field of science and technology. Along with the boon of science, there is always the danger of its curse. Similarly, new technological developments are providing capabilities to human society, but at the same time, they are also creating new challenges for humanity,” she said.
Citing an example of CRISPR-Cas9, which has made gene editing easy, the president said, “This technology is a huge step towards solving many incurable diseases. However, problems related to ethical and social issues are also arising due to the use of this technology.”
Due to the advances in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the problem of deep fake and many regulatory challenges are coming to the fore, she said.
Murmu said she was happy to note that NISER was moving forward by synchronising the rationality of science and the values of tradition.
Murmu hoped that along with their achievements in their profession, the students would also discharge their social duties with full accountability.
“Mahatma Gandhi has defined seven social sins, one of which is merciless science. That is, promoting science without sensitivity towards humanity is like committing a sin,” she said, advising students to remember this message.
“Experiments and research in the field of fundamental science often take a lot of time to get the results. Many times breakthroughs have been achieved after facing disappointment for many years,” she added.
The president told the students that they may go through such a phase at times when their patience is tested but they should never be discouraged.
Murmu advised the students to always remember that developments in fundamental research prove to be extremely beneficial in other areas as well.
The president left the state following the programme, concluding her four-day visit to Odisha. Governor Raghubar Das and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi accompanied her to the airport. (PTI)
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