As you said, it is tough to even define the mind. Now we are practically trying to mimic the mind through AI, even go beyond the mind. Is that possible?
The question is whether AI displays anything like the mind. AI is mimicking whatever it is fed. It doesn’t have those key properties; it doesn’t have intentionality. It doesn’t experience things. It doesn’t generate problems of its own. But then, psychologists would say, wait, they will generate some of this in their own manner. And we will not even know that they are capable of it. So that always remains a fear. But the philosophical argument is, does a computer programme have a mind of its own? The answer, clearly, as of now, is no. It’s a computational tool. It can massively process data. It can tell you what you want to know. But it’s using the knowledge resources that humans have created.
As with DeepSeek, the argument now is that it is better than Gemini. Each person is trying to kind of add those attributes to make it more lucrative. But there are ethical issues. The question is, to what extent do we allow them to mimic us? If they can talk to us like we want, then our connection with human beings will be limited and a lot of problems will happen. Right now, my opinion is that we are yet to see the real problem.
Coming to the practical side of cognitive science, I read your thoughts on Anthony Bourdain, the chef who died by suicide. We see that many in our society, be it students or others, they died by suicide or exhibit irrational behaviour. Is it because of certain things in the brain, or is it because of the so-called mind?
There are psychological theories on it—when you decide to finish your life, the most precious thing that you have… But cognitive scientists as such have not been studying it extensively, as we have clinical psychologists looking at it directly. There are cultural reasons, explaining why some people are more vulnerable. So we talk about willpower and the self. If you have a stronger self, then you will probably find a way to deal with the problem because you have a mind that functions as a problem-solving tool.
The Western mindset is different; the Eastern mindset is different. This is well established now. The collective unconscious of the East is holding us. There is a shroud on it, this has to be removed. … You can see this in the changes happening at the governmental and policy levels. There is a reason why these changes are happening. They are not simply due to a political party being in power at a given moment. We must view them from a broad perspective.
Am I trying to say that all the Western theories about the mind are bad? No, I am not saying that. But I have to live in my culture. The collective unconscious is what I encounter every day, not what Americans and Germans think. If I am unaware of the civilisational pull that is distinctly ours, I will behave like a stranger, and that indifference will cause pain. Our systems for strengthening and sustaining the mind are fabulous—yoga, meditation, kirtans, bhajans. Any collective participation is beneficial. Modern theories in social cognitive neuroscience essentially state this: when we come in contact with other minds, we energise our own minds. So we have to find avenues to come in contact with other minds.
