New Delhi: Pope Leo XIV’s first major ethical reflection on Artificial Intelligence appears to echo Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated calls for human-centred, ethical and inclusive AI governance, with both leaders warning that the technology should serve people rather than be limited to data, profit or power.in their encyclopedia Magnifica Humanitas: On the Security of the Human Person in the Time of Artificial IntelligencePope leo XIV presents AI as one of the defining ethical questions of the era. The document places human dignity, truth, justice, freedom, action and peace at the center of the AI ​​debate.Even before the Pope, PM ModiIn speeches at global forums including the GPAI Summit, the AI ​​Action Summit in Paris and the India AI Impact Summit 2026, a similar argument was made: AI must remain trusted, safe, inclusive and directed towards public welfare rather than pure commercial or geopolitical competition.The strongest point of convergence is the idea that AI should remain focused on the human person rather than the machine.Pope Leo XIV writes, “In the age of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, we have a duty to remain deeply human.”PM Modi had used almost identical framing in a policy context, saying, “Technology exists to serve humanity, not to replace it.”At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, PM Modi described the central challenge as “how to make AI human-centric rather than machine-centric, sensitive and responsible rather than reckless.” The Pope’s warning that no machine can replace “the greatness of humanity” echoes PM Modi’s insistence that technology should enhance, and never eliminate, human judgment and responsibility.The Vatican document repeatedly warns against a “culture of power” driving the AI ​​race, particularly through the concentration of data, computation and technological influence in the hands of a few corporations and states.Pope Leo XIV argues that “technology is never neutral” because it reflects the values ​​and intentions of those who create, finance, and regulate it. He also rejected the idea that ethics could remain a voluntary corporate principle without legal accountability.The Pope writes, “It is not enough to invoke morality in the abstract; what is needed is strong legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users, and a political system that does not shy away from its responsibility.” He added: “A more ethical AI is not enough if morality is determined by a few people.”PM Modi had similarly argued that AI governance cannot be left to markets or technology companies alone.“Ethics in AI cannot be optional or limited. Benefits must be aligned with purpose,” he said at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.The convergence is particularly visible in how both leaders define the purpose of the technology.Pope Leo XIV writes that technology can “heal, connect, educate and protect our common home,” but warns that it can also “divide, exclude and generate new forms of injustice.”PM Modi has repeatedly referred to the Indian civilizational phrase ‘Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaay’ and said that the ultimate goal of technology should be “welfare of all, happiness of all”.For both, AI is not just an efficiency tool or a race for technological supremacy. Its validity depends on whether it improves health, education, agriculture, public services, climate action and last-mile welfare delivery.Equity and access is another major area of ​​overlap.The Pope warned that when technological goods remain concentrated “in the hands of a few”, new imbalances arise, especially for poor societies and vulnerable populations.PM Modi had given a parallel argument from the perspective of the Global South. Speaking at the GPAI summit in 2023, he warned that unequal access to technology has deepened inequalities over the past century and said humanity must avoid repeating that mistake with AI.“Governance also means ensuring access for all, especially in the Global South,” PM Modi said at the Paris AI Action Summit in 2025.He also called for a global partnership on AI to be more inclusive of developing countries and their priorities.The two leaders also agree on the dangers of dehumanization and reducing humans to algorithmic categories.Pope Leo XIV has cautioned against “the pretense that a single language, even a digital language, can translate into data and display everything, including the mystery of the individual.”PM Modi warned in exactly the same formulation that “AI should not reduce humans to mere data points or raw materials.”While the terminologies are different – ​​metaphysical on the one hand, evolutionary on the other – both reject the same reductionist logic: human identity can be completely quantified, optimized or controlled by machine systems.Both leaders also see risks in implicit bias and exclusion within AI systems that present themselves as objective.Pope warned that AI could reinforce “the stereotypes or ideological biases of its designers and developers” while hiding behind a “veil of neutrality”.PM Modi similarly argued for “quality data sets free from biases”, warning that in a deeply diverse society like India, AI bias can emerge through language, culture, region, gender and socio-economic realities.At the Paris AI Action Summit, they used a simple example to illustrate the problem: If asked to picture someone writing with the left hand, an AI system would likely picture a right-handed person because that’s what the dominant training data shows.The future of work is another point of overlap.The encyclopedia acknowledged widespread concerns over automation, unemployment and de-skilling, warning that job losses are not just an economic problem, but also affecting dignity, families and social fabric.Pope Leo XIV argues that every expansion of automation must be accompanied by protections for employment, retraining, and worker participation.PM Modi had taken a more transition-focused approach, but reached a similar conclusion: “Job loss is the most dangerous disruption of AI. But, history has shown that work does not disappear because of technology. Its nature changes and new types of jobs are created.”He has repeatedly argued that preparation, skill, and human-AI collaboration are the best safeguards against disruption.The convergence ultimately points to a broader global argument: AI governance cannot be left to a handful of companies or powerful states acting alone.Pope Leo XIV called for “shared responsibility and courage” to ensure that technology serves humanity rather than domination or exclusion.PM Modi advocated a global compact on AI based on human oversight, security-by-design, transparency and safeguards against deepfakes, terrorism and criminal abuse.Their proposed MANAV framework – ethical and moral systems, accountable governance, national sovereignty, accessible and inclusive, and legitimate and legitimate AI – translates these principles into the Indian policy idiom.The Pope’s framework emerges from Catholic social teaching rooted in human dignity, solidarity, labor rights and the common good. PM Modi’s framework is inspired by democratic governance, developmental priorities and the civilizational ethos of India.Yet both interventions emerged from the same underlying concern: that artificial intelligence might outgrow the ethical and institutional frameworks needed to control it.Together, both approaches suggest the emergence of a broad global consensus: AI should not become a means of domination, exclusion, or dehumanization. It must remain accountable to the human person.

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) detected around 20 cases of manipulation in answer sheets during the first-time implementation of its on-screen marking (OSM) system this year, while over 13,000 answer sheets ultimately had to be evaluated manually due to scanning quality issues, government sources told PTI on Friday.The matter came to light when students looked at the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded on the CBSE portal and found that some were not theirs.“There was a case of Vedant. Vedant got the answer sheet and was horrified to see that it was not his answer sheet. There was a glitch in the scanning. There was also a girl named Sanjana there,” sources told PTI.Class 12 student Vedant had earlier gone viral on social media alleging that the Physics answer sheet uploaded by CBSE during the revaluation process was not his. Many other students, including Sanjana, also reported similar issues online.CBSE later contacted the students and shared the correct answer sheets. The board said that matters related to mismatched answer sheets and other concerns in the revaluation process are being handled on “top priority”.“In some cases, there were irregularities in scanning. There are around 20 such cases. This was pointed out by the students after seeing their answer sheets,” sources said.According to sources, more than 98 lakh answer sheets comprising about 40 crore pages were scanned under the OSM system.“Out of these 98 lakh answer sheets, around 68,000 were found to have quality issues during scanning and were re-scanned. Ultimately, a little over 13,000 copies did not achieve the required legibility quality even after re-scanning,” sources told PTI.The controversy over the digital assessment system has forced CBSE to postpone the opening of its Class 12 result post-verification and revaluation portal from May 29 to June 1.In a post on X, CBSE said the portal is being strengthened to ensure a “transparent, smooth and error-free process” for students applying for verification of marks, photocopies of answer sheets and revaluation services.A CBSE official said the website infrastructure is still being upgraded to avoid disruptions during the application process after many students reported technical glitches while accessing the post-result services.Students and parents had raised issues ranging from difficulty in accessing scanned copies of evaluated answer sheets to payment gateway failures and incorrect fee display on the portal.Concerns intensified after questions were raised over CBSE’s new OSM system introduced for Class 12 evaluation this year. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently acknowledged anomalies in the digital assessment system and assured students that corrective measures will be taken.The Board has advised students not to panic and use the official support channels for assistance regarding verification and revaluation services.CBSE expects huge traffic on the portal, lakhs of students can apply for post-result services. Reports suggest that more than four lakh applications for scanned copies of answer sheets had already been received.Officials defended the rollout of OSM, saying the technology-driven assessment improves transparency and allows answer sheets to be shared with students digitally.“Technology is the future. From next year, answer sheets will also be available in DigiLocker along with marksheets,” sources said.“From next year, all the answer sheets will be sent together on DigiLocker. Technology gives you a certain kind of transparency, which is not possible otherwise,” he said.“Whenever you do something for the first time, there are challenges,” sources said.Sources further said that Koempt and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had technically qualified in the final round of bidding for the project, with Koempt emerging as the lowest bidder.“When the financial bids were opened, Coempt had bid around Rs 24.75 per answer sheet including taxes, while TCS had bid around Rs 65-66 without taxes,” sources said.The contract has come under political scrutiny after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Koempt, earlier known as Globarena, had a controversial past in Telangana. He has demanded an independent judicial investigation and SIT investigation into this matter.

Valluvan (58), a farmer in Pollachi district, said he is spending Rs 500 per tree annually, while the earning is only Rs 300.

New Delhi: A Tamil Nadu farmer, who once lost Rs 200 on growing each coconut tree, has transformed his 11-hectare holding into a Rs 2.5-3 lakh per acre enterprise through multi-crop, tree-based farming – earning him recognition as a UN FAO Soil Farmer Hero. Valluvan (58), a farmer in Pollachi district, said he was spending Rs 500 per tree annually while earning just Rs 300, leaving him stuck in a cycle of losses before he changed his approach in 2009. “I was losing money on every coconut tree I owned. I knew I had to find a solution,” he told reporters in New Delhi. The change came after the emergence of Isha Foundation’s The Save Soil – Cauvery Calling programme, promoted by spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, which advised a shift to multi-crop, multi-tier tree-based agriculture.

From three crop varieties, Valluvan now cultivates more than 14 varieties on the same land – coconut, nutmeg, black pepper, seven banana varieties, turmeric, elephant yam, curry leaves and 30 tree varieties. Income steadily increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 2.5-3 lakh per acre, while the organic carbon content of the soil increased from 0.5 per cent in the first year to 1.56 per cent in the seventh year. The farm also faced two severe droughts, including a 2017 crisis when groundwater levels dropped more than 1,000 feet and there was no rain for two consecutive years – a period when many neighboring farmers cut down their coconut trees. Through mulching and rainwater harvesting pits, the field maintained adequate moisture without additional irrigation. It now uses one-tenth the water it once required, and Valluvan hopes to eliminate irrigation needs altogether within a few years.

“Even sensitive crops like nutmeg and pepper, which farmers say require a lot of water, survived without additional irrigation,” he said. The farm’s multi-crop model also acts as an economic hedge, said Anand Ethirajalu, project director of Save Soil – Cauvery Calling. “If coconut prices fall, his nutmeg saves him. If nutmeg also falls, his banana saves him. He has a range of crops,” Ethirajalu said, comparing the strategy to that of a cricket team with equally capable options. Since its 2019 expansion, Cauvery Calling has planted 13.4 crore trees on private agricultural lands in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – about 10 per cent of the 242 crore trees targeted to restore year-round flow in the Cauvery river basin. However, Ethirajalu identified scaling, funding and policy barriers as major obstacles to widespread adoption, calling for drip-irrigation support for wood crops, removal of restrictive state-level timber-sale regulations, and insurance and subsidy schemes for tree-based agriculture. “The only solution to global warming and the climate crisis looming over the entire world is tree-based agriculture,” Valluvan said.

New Delhi: Outgoing Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah Met top Congress leaders in Delhi on Friday, a day after stepping down from the state’s top post.During his meeting with Rahul Gandhi at 10 Janpath, Siddaramaiah reportedly told him that he had fulfilled his promise of resigning as chief minister, paving the way for change in Karnataka.“He thanked Rahul Gandhi for giving him the opportunity to serve the state and informed him that he has resigned from the post of chief minister,” sources told PTI.A day earlier, Siddaramaiah had claimed that he was offered a Rajya Sabha seat and a national role in the party, but he “politely” declined.“I will continue to be in active politics. I have no interest in national politics,” Siddaramaiah said soon after stepping down on Thursday.He said, “I was also asked about Rajya Sabha. I rejected it. I want to stay in Karnataka politics.”PTI quoted sources as saying that during the meeting, Siddaramaiah presented a new list of demands.Sidda’s wish listEven though Siddaramaiah has resigned from the post of Chief Minister due to the agreement reached with the party high command and Deputy DK Shivakumar, his hold on the state politics and party remains intact.During the meeting with Rahul Gandhi, he discussed his future plans and the formation of a new government in Karnataka.According to PTI, Siddaramaiah has sought a place in the cabinet and an important ministry for his son Yatindra. It is understood that he has also submitted a list of his loyalists whom he wants to include in the new cabinet.Sources further told PTI that the Congress may restructure the party structure in the state, a process in which Siddaramaiah, considered the party’s tallest leader in Karnataka, is expected to play a major role.After meeting Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah also met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and discussed the formation of the new government in Karnataka and his future role in the party.“Shri Siddaramaiah’s public life has consistently reflected a deep commitment to dignity, compassion and social justice. From humble beginnings to serving as Chief Minister of Karnataka twice, he remained steadfast in his commitment to equality, harmony and the welfare of the marginalized.“Karnataka and Congress are grateful for his contribution to public life. Best wishes for his good health and continued service to the people,” Kharge said in a post on X while sharing pictures with Siddaramaiah.Shivakumar held separate meetings with Kharge and Venugopal during the day and later told the media that the Congress Legislature Party meeting would be held after confirming the timing with the party high command.Congress leader Salim Ahmed said a CLP meeting has been scheduled for 4 pm on Saturday in Bengaluru, which will be attended by Venugopal and Surjewala.Ahmed said, the name of the new chief minister will be announced in the meeting, after which the schedule of the swearing-in ceremony will be finalised.He said, “As far as the Cabinet composition is concerned, the decision on it will be taken by the party high command and the Chief Minister. Everything is going smoothly. The BJP may be surprised by the disciplined manner in which the Congress is handling the situation. They were predicting that the Congress would split or face disruption, but this process has sent a clear message.”

A new, or 325 million year old, creature has just taken the subcontinent by storm. It was this “misinterpretation” of cockroaches being compared to humans that gave rise to a satirical online organization – Cockroach Janata Party.CJP). But what perhaps started as a simple joke or political satire for a few thousand people has captured the imagination and support of millions.The party’s manifesto demanded a ban on post-retirement Rajya Sabha seats for chief justices, media neutrality, 50 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and a 20-year election ban on MLAs and MPs who switch parties. The eligibility criteria for its membership were: ‘unemployed, lazy, online for a long time, ability to boast professionally.’While critics have questioned the purpose of the CJP, the fact remains that this “party” now technically has more followers than both mainstream political parties combined – BJP And Congress – Have been united. Accusations are made from both sides of the coin, people are on the fence and engagement is skyrocketing at even a single mention of this “party”. Why?Why is it resonating among millions of people? Or is it actually resonating?To understand this impact, one must situate memes within the contemporary attention economy, where scarcity of human attention has replaced scarcity of information (Lanham, 2006). The 21st century has seen a fundamental change in the way youth consume politics. They don’t even wake up to newspapers anymore. There are no longer news channels playing on TV as ambient noise in the evening. The medium is now in your hands – you scroll for knowledge. You scroll, you don’t see. You have to find what you want to know, it has to make enough noise over the other 1.5 billion posts made per day.

This is what Gil de Zuniga, Strauss, and Huber have called the “news finds me” perception. This explains why the initial comment on the cockroach comparison during a court hearing did not spread through court transcripts – it was interpreted through memes, which multiplied the excitement over the comment. When news has to be found for you through an algorithm, only the most unsettling pieces emerge. CJP is, at its core, a meme that you found and then became news. Its virality forced its changes and coverage. It is currently under this cycle that has retained its popularity. The moment he breaks from the cycle – what is his future?An organization like the CJP is almost a textbook case of what falls under Bakhtin’s carnival. According to Bakhtin, carnival is a licensed space where hierarchy is suspended, where the king can be mocked by the jester. The word cockroach was reportedly used to refer to unemployed youth. But then these comments got involved within the carnival itself, the people who had to bear the brunt of this statement formed a party against him and believe that this is wrong in Indian politics. Dissent within the political sphere is prevalent, expected and encouraged in social media but the popularity of this movement turns it into the definition of carnival. Yet the tent ultimately falls on whether CJP truly wants to become an entity of its own or just become a viral carnival.Poe’s law complicates any simple answer. Online, honest extremism and satirical extremism wear the same clothes. Is CJP a real political movement? a joke? a demonstration? The answer is all three together. Its obscurity protects it from fair persecution. Threats can be sent, allegations of being a Pakistani front can be made and accounts can be deleted. But at their core they are protected and political. You can’t capture a punchline. You cannot file an FIR against a meme. The CJP exists in a fog between sarcasm and sincerity, and that fog is its best defense and the reason its numbers can grow.Steps taken by some in power to curb CJP’s popularity, such as allegations and platform inefficiencies, are helping him remain popular. Each act of censorship brings new sign-ups, new attention, and fresh memes. This can be compared to the Streisand effect. Named after Barbra Streisand, who sued a photographer for removing an aerial photograph of her Malibu mansion from the public shoreline erosion collection in 2003. The photo had been downloaded only six times before the lawsuit. After she filed it, the image was viewed by more than 400,000 people. Trying to hide something made it impossible to ignore. The same logic applies here also.Social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979) explains the rest. People derive their sense of self from the groups to which they belong, and Homo sapiens is a social animal. We have an inherent need to belong. By calling themselves cockroaches, millions of young Indians aren’t just sharing a joke, they’re signaling membership. This membership was also inspired by those around them, there was group level consideration in the decisions made Because a lot of CJP’s membership did no background research on what and who they were supporting in an effort to be a part of something bigger, they created something extremely viral but also extremely empty. What does anyone really know about CJP? Do the founders even understand what CJP is?Memes have become the language of the internet. That means they have become the language of online politics. Accessible. Easy. No conflict. A meme asks nothing from you except a second of recognition. You don’t think about it. You watch it, it entertains you, you share it and you move on. This is why the form works. This is why it fails. The shared language is fine for basic conversation. But it struggles with depth. This allows you to not project any depth and still go viral but isn’t really critical. A party legitimized through AI and memes lacks the depth to be sustained or taken seriously.

Which leads us to slothism.The Internet has made it incredibly easy to align yourself with a purpose. A follow button. A Google Form. Repost a story. CJP has mastered this low-inhibition engagement. you wanna join? Fill out this form. Do you want to show support? Repost this meme. Do you want to feel like you’re part of something? Here’s a hashtag. #MeTooCockroach. Done. Our purpose, something we ourselves are not entirely clear about, is something you stand by? Add a cockroach emoji to your username. You are now a member. You have contributed. You can scroll.But what does that actually mean?CJP’s eligibility criteria – unemployed, lazy, constantly online – is a joke. But it is also a mirror. What’s the point of membership if it only takes one click to join? If the primary activity of the movement is to share memes, what has really been accomplished?This is the slacktivism problem. The ease of online participation creates the illusion of influence. You hit follow. You sign a Google form. You repost a meme. You are feeling good. You feel like you’ve accomplished something. But do you have it? Carnival needs spectators. The meme needs to spread. But when the carnival is over, when the meme phase is over, what is left?We commend CJP for its impact. But we must not forget that membership is a form of social currency. And membership here also requires currency.CJP performs inclusively but is exclusive. People are talking about it. Member. People who are “in” on the joke. They are the elite people of our country. High class. upper middle class. English speaking. Constantly online by choice, not circumstance. They have the data plans, the tools, the hours of scrolling, the cultural capital to understand the contexts. They are the only people who can afford to be lazy.This is not a true people’s party. There may be a voting symbol in it. Social media can be taken advantage of in this. But beyond that, what’s really in it?

The digital divide is not just about access to technology. It’s about access to culture. Memes require knowledge. Learning requires time. Time requires privilege. CJP’s humor is internal humor. If you don’t get the joke you are an outsider. And if you are an outsider then this movement does not matter to you.So who exactly is CJP for? The answer is inconvenient. This is for people like us. Educated. Joined together. Those who already have a voice.Its virility may potentially be the only trace left.