The Annual Solanki Lecture
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The Yadunandan Center for India Studies at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is proud to present the 23rd annual Solanki Lecture.
The lecture will take in person on the campus of CSULB on Thursday, April 23rd.
We have a fabulous speaker this year, Akhil Gupta, who will be discussing an essential topic: the future of energy.
Please join us and spread the word to others.
Please also note that there will be a free Indian meal for everyone attending.
You can RSVP by scanning the QR code on the poster (a PDF version of the poster is attached, just in case) or by clicking here.
Abstract:
In this talk, Dr. Gupta looks at the promise and perils of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the arena of climate change through an analysis of the energy and infrastructural sectors. The green transition – the effort to decarbonize electricity generation by moving to renewable resources such as solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, and geothermal energy – is our only hope of saving the planet from impending disaster. AI plays a contradictory role in imaginations of the future energyscape, as it is seen as potentially beneficial in bringing about the green transition but simultaneously hastening climate change due to its high demand for electricity. How would a perspective from the Global South help us think more carefully and critically about green transitions and the potential of AI in the energy sector?
Biography:
Dr. Gupta is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He is a past president of the American Anthropological Association and a past director of the Center for India and South Asia at UCLA. His research and writing examine bureaucracy, corruption, agriculture, infrastructure, and economy in South Aisa.
