Miscellany: “The Evolution of Patriarchy and How AI May Reshape Humanity”

The Department of English Literature and Language, IIS (Deemed to be University), hosted an online guest lecture- Miscellany on 25 September. The speaker for the Inter-disciplinary session was Prof. Tamas David-Barrett, behavioural scientist at Trinity College, Oxford University. His talk on “The Evolution of Patriarchy and How AI May Reshape Humanity” brought together themes of demography, economics, social structures, and the possibilities of artificial intelligence in ways that felt at once rigorous and accessible. He reminded the audience that while societies evolve slowly, artificial intelligence is advancing at a much faster pace, often outstripping institutions such as education, politics, and ethics, which struggle to keep up. The key challenge, he stressed, was not to treat AI as an external threat, but to think about how communities might use it justly and responsibly for the collective good, including the urgent tasks of climate action and environmental conservation.

The interactive session that followed was lively, with students and faculty raising questions on ethics, sustainability, and the risks of over-reliance on technology. Prof. David-Barrett responded with clarity, often linking questions back to his evolutionary perspective. The session concluded with a vote of thanks, leaving the audience optimistic about the possibilities of AI in shaping a sustainable future.