Founding Vice Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University (JGU), Prof (Dr) C Raj Kumar recently participated as a distinguished speaker at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 in Davos, Switzerland.
The WEF convenes annually in Davos to bring together global leaders from all walks of life to address critical global and regional challengers. The WEF Annual Meeting 2025, held from 20-24 January on the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”, brought together 3,000 global leaders from over 130 countries.
Prof Kumar spoke during a Round Table discussion held as part of the event for the New Civilisation Project on the theme "Balancing Humanity, Nature, and Artificial Intelligence in Harmony.
The discussion was organised by the Purpose Driven Innovation Ecosystem (PDIE) Group on January 20, 2025.
During the discussion, Prof. Kumar focused on education and sustainable development as the pillars of a harmonious future where human aspirations align with the ecological realities of our planet.
Prof. Kumar proposed that education must be reimagined beyond traditional knowledge transfer to foster interdisciplinary and holistic learning, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making, to prepare individuals to navigate the complexities of a world driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He added that curricula must integrate ecological awareness, sustainability principles, and the moral dimensions of technology to foster holistic problem-solving among future generations. He posited that this paradigm shift in learning will prepare societies to embrace Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a collective mission and adopt Sustainable Development as a practical framework for addressing critical global challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource inequality.
Prof. Kumar also argued that AI should be seen as a collaborator rather than a disruptor and emphasised its role in scaling solutions for education, reducing environmental impact, and fostering innovation that respects natural ecosystems. He observed that AI has the potential to act as a bridge between humanity’s aspirations and nature’s limitations by enabling resource optimisation, predictive ecological modelling, environmental monitoring and equitable decision-making, thereby accelerating the achievement of global sustainability goals.
While discussing the integration of AI into society, Prof. Kumar underscored the importance of establishing global legal and ethical frameworks to ensure that AI operates transparently and responsibly. He highlighted that an ethical and human-centric AI can amplify human-led initiatives to achieve deeper and faster results.
In today’s technology-driven world, he stressed the need to preserve human creativity and encourage cultural expressions like art, music, and philosophy to counterbalance automation.
He also advocated for empowering marginalised communities and developing nations through equitable access to AI technologies and skill development for AI-related roles.
Collective responsibility and a global commitment to a future that respects the delicate balance of humanity, nature, and AI was the underlying message in Prof Kumar's conclusion.
He stated that by harmonising human ingenuity with the wisdom of nature and the computational power of AI, a new civilisation can be envisioned where technological progress is not at odds with the planet but rather a force for sustainable co-existence.
He also emphasised that combining education, sustainable development, effective policy reforms and legal systems can reaffirm faith in humanity’s ability to innovate, adapt, and lead with integrity towards a balanced civilisation.
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