Silicon Valley pioneered AI, but China showcased its potential as a culturally infused force by training models like DeepSeek on native texts. This approach shaped AI with Chinese philosophical and literary depth. Vivek Wadhwa argues India has a greater opportunity, with its vast intellectual heritage spanning the Vedas, Arthashastra, and ayurveda. Training AI on Indian texts could bridge science and spirituality, offering ethical, holistic solutions. To achieve this, India must digitize its literature, develop indigenous AI, and treat AI as a strategic asset.
Credit: Vivek Wadhwa, author.
Silicon Valley may have birthed the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but China has shown how it can become a culturally infused force. DeepSeek, the Chinese AI model that garnered global attention, isn’t simply replicating western capabilities. By training on a vast corpus of Chinese texts, it has absorbed the nuances of the nation’s rich cultural, philosophical, and literary heritage. DeepSeek’s superior performance in understanding Chinese philosophy, history, and classical literature underscores a crucial point: Training AI on homegrown data isn’t just about language — it shapes the very nature of AI.
India has an even greater opportunity to redefine the future of AI. Our ancient texts hold advanced knowledge spanning mathematics, astronomy, medicine, governance, and philosophy. The Vedas, Upanishads, Arthashastra, and Tamil Sangam literature offer profound insights into topics ranging from consciousness to economic theory.
AI, at its core, is a sophisticated pattern recognition system trained on massive datasets. Large Language Models (LLMs) learn by analysing text, identifying relationships, and generating responses based on detected patterns. Consequently, their understanding of the world is a direct reflection of their training data. If an AI is predominantly trained on western scientific papers, corporate documents, and pop culture, its worldview will be inherently western. Conversely, training in Chinese literature and philosophy, as China has done, cultivates a distinctly Chinese way of thinking.
China’s strategic approach involved training models on texts spanning Confucianism, Daoism, and classical Chinese medical treatises. This deliberate choice enabled DeepSeek to discuss the intricacies of Zhuangzi’s paradoxes or interpret historical poetry with a depth surpassing western AI models. Western AI, primarily built on English-language data, reflects a western worldview —strong in scientific and technological domains but comparatively weaker in spiritual, philosophical, and ethical dimensions.
Imagine the possibilities of an AI trained on India’s intellectual heritage. Picture a model capable of analysing modern economic theories through the lens of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, offering governance solutions rooted in realpolitik as well as ethical leadership. Envision an AI steeped in ayurveda and siddha medicine, contributing novel insights into holistic healing. Consider a system that could interpret consciousness as described in the Upanishads and compare it with contemporary neuroscience. Such AI wouldn’t merely answer questions — it would elevate our collective understanding.
While western AI models often prioritise materialist frameworks and China’s AI integrates Confucian values, India has the unique opportunity to create AI that bridges science and spirituality, economics and ethics, technology and tradition. Yet this requires proactive data curation and the development of models resonant with India’s civilisational wisdom.
Relying on western AI perpetuates a colonial mindset that has long dictated what Indians learn and how they think. If Indian businesses, universities, and policymakers continue to use AI trained primarily on western datasets, they are not just adopting a tool; they are adopting an external worldview. Much like India’s education system once served British interests, leaning on western AI risks similar intellectual dependence, obscuring India’s own rich heritage in the digital age.
Moreover, the dominance of American and Chinese AI raises critical concerns about data sovereignty. If India relies on AI systems built and controlled abroad, its data — a national asset — will enrich foreign entities while shaping AI models that may not align with India’s best interests. Just as China restricted western tech firms to cultivate its own AI giants, India must assert control over its AI development.
A historical beacon of wisdom, India has too often viewed its knowledge through a western lens. From the concept of zero to the practice of yoga, our contributions have profoundly shaped human progress. Now, as the world grapples with existential crises — climate change, mental health epidemics, and economic inequality — it is flooded with information yet lacks true wisdom. AI trained on India’s intellectual heritage could offer fresh perspectives on these modern challenges.
An AI steeped in Vedantic thought could revolutionise our understanding of consciousness and cognition, transcending current limits in western neuroscience. A model trained on Indian economic and governance principles could give developing nations alternative frameworks beyond western capitalism or Chinese State-driven models. And an AI rooted in Indian ethics could offer a vital counterpoint to the profit-driven systems dominating Silicon Valley.
To realise this potential, India must take decisive action. Vast amounts of our classical and regional literature remain undigitised. Government and private institutions must prioritise scanning, transcribing, and structuring these texts into machine-readable formats. Indian companies and research institutions should develop AI models trained on both ancient and modern Indian data to ensure alignment with our cultural, ethical, and philosophical ethos. AI must be treated as a strategic national asset, akin to India’s space and nuclear programmes. Policies should limit the unfettered export of Indian training data to foreign AI firms, ensuring that AI isn’t merely a consumer technology, but a tool integrated into its universities and research institutions.
India can make AI more than a tool for automation — it can become a catalyst for enlightenment. By combining the wisdom of our ancient texts with cutting-edge AI, we could unlock breakthroughs in philosophy, science, and medicine. Now is the moment to reclaim our intellectual sovereignty and unleash India’s wisdom to uplift and enlighten humanity.
Vivek Wadhwa is CEO, Vionix Biosciences.
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