Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of conversations around the future of technology, intelligence and humanity. While AI is already capable of performing several tasks, questions remain about whether machines could one day reach a level of intelligence far beyond humans. Swami Sarvapriyananda, who is also a distinguished guest at the NDTV World Summit 2026, spoke about artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI), and whether such technology could eventually pose a threat to humanity. The conversation was shared by the Vedanta Society of New York on its YouTube channel. According to the organisation, the interview with Swami Sarvapriyananda was conducted in June 2025.

During the conversation, the interviewer asked Swami Sarvapriyananda whether artificial superintelligence was a real possibility or merely a fantasy of technologists. He was also asked whether a superintelligent AI could become misaligned with human interests and treat humans in the same way humans treat less intelligent beings.

Responding to the question, Swami Sarvapriyananda referred to philosopher Nick Bostrom and his book Superintelligence, published in 2014. 

He explained that Bostrom had discussed two kinds of misalignment – one concerning how AI might treat humans and the other concerning how humans might treat AI.

Speaking about the current state of AI, he said that artificial general intelligence still appears to be far away. He described present-day AI as being very good at some things but still “very stupid at many things”. 

He explained that current AI is largely domain-specific, while humans can perform different kinds of tasks, even if they are not better than AI in every individual domain.

He pointed out that humans can perform different kinds of tasks reasonably well, even if they cannot match AI in specific areas. Referring to ChatGPT, he said that it could work with text and produce different kinds of content but had limitations in other areas. 

When asked whether such a superintelligence could destroy humanity, Swami Sarvapriyananda said it was “unlikely”. He explained this through the Vedantic idea that the world is preserved and that, according to Vedanta, everything in the universe, from matter to artificial superintelligence, is ultimately part of the larger reality.

He said that even if artificial superintelligence became a serious problem, it could be a problem “for a while”, but eventually humanity would move forward. He added that people could be “in for a rough ride” but described it as potentially “an exciting ride”.

Some people regard Swami Sarvapriyananda as the “Vivekananda of the internet age”. He is known for using digital platforms to make the teachings of Advaita Vedanta accessible to a global audience.

Swami Sarvapriyananda is one of the distinguished guests at the NDTV World Summit 2026, where audiences can hear him speak live.