Chandrayaan's success: Tufts University president on lessons for the US in mastering science without waste

Professor Sunil Kumar, the 14th President of Tufts University in the United States, believes that there is much for the U.S. to learn from successes in Indian research, such as Chandrayaan, particularly in engaging with science without being wasteful.

Currently in India as part of the Association of American Universities' (AAU) delegation, he has identified furthering networks and relationships with Indian institutions for mutually beneficial collaboration as his personal target.

While seeking partnerships with Indian institutions and companies, he outlined areas like the future of food, synthetic agriculture (such as growing meat in a test tube), infectious diseases, materials, and sustainability as strengths for his university.

In 2023, the AAU formed a task force on Expanding United States-India University Partnerships, which issued an interim report in June. As the co-chair of the task force, Kumar stated that the report primarily focuses on research-oriented education and addresses issues like climate change, food, the use of AI and data science, computation, and infectious diseases.

Speculating on the relatively small number of American universities looking to establish campuses in India, Kumar told CNBC-TV18 that while the Indian government has made it easier to set up campuses, global universities will need to determine how they can be successful.

While expressing a desire to see Indian institutions evolve with unique models to compete with Western institutions, making it harder for them to operate in India, he noted that the Indian and American governments support the joint task force's endeavor, which may result in impactful and unique solutions.

Describing the ever-evolving realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as learning to fly a plane while the plane itself is changing, he referred to it as a challenge for both research and education.

Kumar emphasised that the correct path is to adopt AI rather than try to prevent it. He explained the importance of examining how AI is incorporated into curricula by institutions, adding that the inevitable evolution of technology should contribute to education rather than tempt cheating via ChatGPT.

Even as Tufts University experiments with AI, it has instructors in several disciplines who inform students that ChatGPT can be used as long as they disclose where it was used and how the answer improved after its use.

Kumar cautioned that ChatGPT doesn't necessarily provide correct answers, and one of the downsides of AI is that it's only as good as the data or body of knowledge it learned from. Despite AI's benefits in the field of research, he pointed out that it reflects even erroneous or biased data from the body of knowledge it learns.