Shivamogga: Senior engineer at Bengaluru-based Snowflake Technologies Vinayaka Hampiholi said that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be viewed as a standalone solution but represents a broader framework of pattern-matching technologies that demand rigorous human intervention to avoid deep-seated bias.

Speaking as the resource person at the one-day workshop on 'the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Social Science and Humanities Research' organised by the Department of PG Studies in Political Science, at Basava Sabha Bhavan at Kuvempu University in Shankaraghatta on Saturday, Vinayaka cautioned researchers that relying purely on statistical accuracy without assessing underlying data limitations leads to algorithmic "hallucinations" and "pure garbage" pattern matching.

He stressed that filtering and selection biases occur long before data is processed because human researchers inherently choose what to look for based on pre-existing knowledge frameworks.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Sharath Ananthamurthy noted that technology and AI must ultimately serve absolute human necessities like water. He questioned why the discourse surrounding AI remains largely restricted to technical domains rather than being seamlessly integrated into humanities and social sciences, concluding that universities must remain inclusive spaces for contrasting, pluralistic visions.