“कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥“
(Karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana |
Mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi ||)
“You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.”

Technology, Education, and My Journey

Ever since I arrived in the United States in 2009, I have been fascinated by the intersection of technology and education. As someone passionate about teaching and learning, I was particularly drawn to how technology could transform writing instruction. Over the years, I’ve seen how digital tools can empower students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, making education more inclusive and accessible. My PhD dissertation focused on Learning Management System (LMS) interface design, where I argued for involving students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in developing these platforms. The goal was simple: to create safe, inclusive, and user-friendly spaces for learning.

Writing in the Age of Digital Technologies

As a writing professor, I’ve designed and taught courses that explore what it means to be a writer in the age of digital technologies. But with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, I’ve also felt the growing anxiety in academia. When ChatGPT (second version) launched in November 2022, the fear of rampant cheating and academic dishonesty became a pressing concern. This anxiety, however, is not new. Scholars like Plato were skeptical of writing itself in classical Greece, fearing it would erode memory and critical thinking. The printing press, word processors, and now generative AI have all faced similar skepticism. Yet, each of these technologies has also brought transformative benefits.

A Personal Turning Point

For a long time, I observed the debates surrounding ChatGPT misuse by students but hesitated to address it in my writing courses. That changed when I saw my own 8th-grade son using ChatGPT for his school assignments in November 2024. This made me deeply concerned. I wondered whether my son was using ChatGPT as a shortcut rather than as a tool for building knowledge. Witnessing my son’s use of ChatGPT was both shocking and enlightening. As a writing professor who has always emphasized the relationship between writing and technology, I realized I had been avoiding a crucial conversation.

Why hadn’t I embraced AI as a tool for experimentation and discussion in my classes? I began to wonder how many of my students were using AI tools like ChatGPT and submitting answers it prepared, especially since I had a zero-tolerance policy for AI use and no reliable verification mechanism to detect whether their work was AI-generated. I realized that ignoring or denying AI’s existence was not a viable solution. Instead, it was more prudent to confront it head-on.

Incorporating AI into My Teaching

With this in mind, I decided to incorporate AI into my writing courses, making AI itself a topic of discussion and encouraging students to experiment with it starting in January 2025. This, I believed, was the best way to develop critical perspectives and teach students to use AI responsibly, ethically, and creatively. Since there is no reliable plagiarism detection method for AI-generated writing, I concluded that teaching self-discipline and self-restraint (principles emphasized in the Bhagavad Gita) was the most effective way to promote responsible AI use.

Revising My Writing Syllabi

In December 2024, I decided to act. I read several books and articles on how AI tools like ChatGPT could be integrated into writing classrooms. I revised my syllabus to make AI a central topic of discussion and a collaborative tool for writing activities. To my delight, my students have embraced this approach, especially since many professors still enforce a zero-tolerance policy for AI use. But as I delved deeper into the ethical implications of AI, I realized that technical solutions alone (like AI detection tools) are not enough to address the challenges we face. This is where the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita comes in.

Why the Bhagavad Gita?

My decision to integrate the principles of the Bhagavad Gita into my teaching and research on AI is deeply personal. For the past two years, I have been studying the Gita, and its teachings have profoundly shaped my understanding of life, work, and education. The Gita’s emphasis on self-regulation, ethical action, and detachment resonates with the challenges we face in the age of AI.

Moreover, the Gita is part of my cultural and spiritual heritage. My great-grandfathers were scholars of the Vedas, and our family was known as “Vedaas” in our village. I grew up as “Veda ko Raju,” surrounded by the wisdom of ancient scriptures. I remember my grandfather healing villagers with mantras from the Vedas. While I cannot say for certain whether these mantras cured their ailments, I do know that they brought comfort and hope. Many parents used to bring their children suffering from asthma for treatment to my grandfather. This connection to the Vedas and the Gita inspired me to name my blog “Ved Vani Community Literacy Forum” before changing it to “Toronto Realty and Rhetoric.”

What’s Next?

In the fall of 2025 (August), I will teach a course on writing and technology for the Science, Technology, and Math Living Learning Community at my university. This course will integrate the principles of the Bhagavad Gita to explore the ethical use of AI in writing and education. I am also working on journal articles on how the Gita’s teachings can guide the responsible use of AI.

The Bhagavad Gita reminds us that true progress comes from ethical action and self-awareness. As we navigate the challenges and opportunities of AI, let us strive to use this powerful technology with wisdom, responsibility, and compassion. As the Gita says:

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” (Chapter 6, Verse 5)

Let this journey guide us in creating a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.