While we struggle to cope with the increasing complexities and demands of daily life, one device that is proving a great boon to both lay people and organizations is artificial intelligence (AI). We were initially skeptical of how this new technological development could benefit a small community magazine like ours. We assumed — wrongly — that one would require high powered consultants to demonstrate the pros and cons of its functionality. When a delegate at the one-day Global Working Group/Global Council of Zoroastrians Trust meet held this February in Bombay suggested Zoroastrian institutions could benefit from AI, we were skeptical. Most Parsi non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India are barely able to cope with the increasing compliances and government stranglehold legislation. Where would the hard-pressed staff and trustees have the energy and personnel to cope with additional requirements?
But our apprehensions were misplaced. One learns about the uses and limitations of AI as one goes along. To start with, the AI apps are free to download for the basic configurations. We had heard about an AI app over two years ago when a friend randomly keyed in his name. The information provided to him was totally inaccurate but, in hindsight, the "prompt” fed in could have been more specific. Perhaps a middle initial, age, geographic location or profession, would have helped better define the person. When we keyed in another name with the middle initial, the information was accurate and specific. We were told by our technically knowledgeable associates and friends about newer AI apps but it was only when one of them demonstrated we could ask the app to write an essay on Zoroastrianism or request for an illustration, that we started experimenting with the new tool.
We asked ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) for an illustration of lions in Gir Forest being struck by speeding trains (see "Saving wildlife,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, January 21-February 6, 2025). The Poona based NGO Beauty Without Cruelty had successfully petitioned the railways and the Gujarat State Forest Ministry to lower the speed of the trains at night when passing through forested areas in Gujarat’s Amreli district frequented by lions. Within seconds ChatGPT obliged with an image of a train in a wooded area with a bloodied and wounded/dead lion lying near the railway tracks and lionesses loitering in the background. Realization then dawned about the latent potential of the new technology. Emboldened, we then sought illustrations of erstwhile vocations for an article written by a long-time resident of Gamadia Colony (see "The lost professions,” pg 116) and for recipes taken from the Lions Club cook book (see "Meaningful meals,” pg 140).
We tried other applications. Ashes from the consecrated fires in fire temples are no longer permitted by the Bombay Municipal Corporation to be deposited in the sea as the chemicals and toxins in the ash adversely affect the ocean’s fragile ecosystem. We wondered how much ash would be generated by the 50 plus fire temples in Bombay, each burning around a metric tonne a month (see "Ashes to Doongerwadi,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, February 21-March 6, 2025). Since scattering of ashes from cremated bodies is banned in parks abroad, we sought to ascertain whether ash from the agiaries would cause harm to the environment if deposited at Doongerwadi.
Without AI’s help we would not have been able to calculate the volume of ash generated by burning a tonne of wood. We would have had to identify a knowledgeable person or burn a few kilos of wood and weigh the residual ashes, a time consuming, crude and expensive alternative.
AI at present has its limitations (see translator Aban Mukherji’s letter "ChatGPT zindabad!” pg 204). We asked the app to write an obituary on novelist Bapsi Sidhwa. But what came out was a dry, factual account of her life. AI at present is no substitute for a journalist but it can assist writers in their work.
Profs Raghuram Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Rohit Lamba, assistant professor of economics at Cornell University, noted in their book Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future: "While it is obvious that (AI) cannot replace humans fully as yet, some of these glitches will be fixed over time. What seems clear is that it can be a valuable aid to service providers.”
While the term "service providers” is used more for businesses that charge for providing services rather than charitable trusts, the inclusion of NGOs may be useful to monitor the quality of assistance extended. Is the trust rendering help when and where required? Are the needs of the beneficiaries being met in a timely and caring fashion? Are the disadvantaged being treated in a humane and fair manner? Trusts could be graded on scales reflecting their ability, timeliness and willingness to assist others. Comparisons could be made on who is putting their assets to optimal use and how. Those with a higher score could share their knowledge and experience with others. Benefits that are derived by using AI in New York or Hong Kong can be applied in Bombay, Surat or Karachi. But people will have to keep in mind the two noted economists’ note of caution: "Since norms and ethics are not programmed into the AI, it may choose paths that violate considerations of decency, regulations or even laws.” Also, prejudices could be injected into AI, depending on the initial source material fed in, the two economists point out.
As Jamshedi Navroz approaches, this may be the right time to marry AI with good old fashioned philanthropy and caring. Little or no cost is involved while at the same time efficiency improves, knowledge increases and benefits accrue to all.