We are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and AI agents are becoming more powerful every day. This technology should not only make our lives easier but also help protect people from misinformation, disinformation, and manipulation.
The human brain can be influenced by fear, repeated messages, emotional stories, social pressure, and authority figures. Sometimes these methods are used to spread false information or to make people believe things without asking questions. This can happen in religion, politics, business, social media, and many other areas.
AI should help people think more clearly—not think for them. It should encourage people to ask questions, verify facts, compare different sources, and understand the difference between evidence, opinion, and belief. Instead of telling people what to believe, AI should provide reliable information so that people can make their own informed decisions.
Scientists, neuroscientists, neurologists, neuropsychiatrists, psychologists, educators, and AI experts should work together to explain how the human brain forms beliefs and how people can be influenced or manipulated. Advances in neuroscience have shown that our brains are naturally attracted to emotionally powerful stories, authority figures, and group identity. Understanding these processes can help people recognize when they are being manipulated and make more rational decisions.
Schools and universities should also teach critical thinking, media literacy, digital literacy, and basic neuroscience. These subjects can help students recognize fake news, deepfakes, propaganda, scams, and misleading information before they accept or share it. An educated society is the strongest defense against manipulation.
This is not an entirely new idea. More than a century ago, the late Dharma Ratna Yami, born in the early 1900s, demonstrated remarkable courage as a critical thinker. Long before the digital age, social media, or artificial intelligence, he encouraged people to question accepted beliefs instead of accepting them blindly. Through his books, writings, and public lectures, he promoted reason, education, and independent thinking. He believed that people should seek truth through knowledge and thoughtful inquiry rather than through fear or unquestioned tradition. His ideas were far ahead of their time and remain highly relevant today.
Dharma Ratna Yami’s influence extended beyond Nepal. His residence in Kathmandu became an important center of intellectual and cultural exchange, where distinguished scholars, Buddhist thinkers, writers, and social reformers gathered. Eminent personalities such as Maha Pandit Rahul Sankrityayan, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, and Dharamvir Bharati stayed at the Yami residence during their visits to Nepal. Their presence reflected the Yami household’s role as a vibrant forum for discussions on Buddhism, history, literature, social justice, equality, and human dignity.
In 1962, Dharma Ratna Yami traveled to Burma (now Myanmar) and China, where he met scholars, writers, monks, intellectuals, and community leaders. During these visits, he shared the ideas contained in his books and engaged in thoughtful discussions on social justice, cultural preservation, human dignity, and rational inquiry. Many members of the older generations in these countries may still remember his visits and his commitment to promoting knowledge, dialogue, and critical thinking across national boundaries.
Although he lived in a very different era, Dharma Ratna Yami understood a timeless truth: societies flourish when citizens are encouraged to think independently rather than accept ideas without question. His lifelong commitment to reason, evidence, education, and intellectual honesty anticipated many of the challenges we face in today’s digital world.
The challenges we face today are different in form but similar in nature. False information can now spread across the world within seconds through digital platforms. AI can either worsen this problem by amplifying misleading content or become one of humanity’s greatest tools for protecting truth and knowledge. The choice depends on how we design and use it.
Future AI agents should be developed to help people distinguish reliable information from false or misleading claims. They should explain the evidence behind their answers, identify trustworthy sources, highlight uncertainty when evidence is limited, and encourage users to think critically rather than accept information without question. AI should support freedom of thought while helping people evaluate claims using logic and evidence.
Governments, universities, research institutions, and technology companies should work together to establish ethical standards for trustworthy AI. These standards should promote transparency, accountability, scientific integrity, privacy, and respect for human rights. AI should strengthen people’s ability to think independently, not manipulate their opinions or reinforce misinformation.
A nation’s progress depends not only on its economy or technology but also on the quality of its citizens’ thinking. When people are repeatedly misled, exploited, or divided by false information, national development suffers. In contrast, a society that values education, evidence, critical thinking, and open inquiry is better equipped to innovate, solve problems, strengthen democratic institutions, and build lasting social harmony.
More than six decades after his journey to Burma and China, the values that Dharma Ratna Yami championed remain timeless. In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, deepfakes, algorithm-driven content, and digital misinformation, his call to verify facts, question assumptions, and make decisions based on reason and evidence is more important than ever. His legacy reminds us that technology should strengthen human wisdom—not replace it.
The greatest contribution of artificial intelligence will not be replacing human intelligence. Its greatest contribution will be helping people ask better questions, evaluate evidence more carefully, resist manipulation, and make wiser decisions. If AI is guided by ethics, transparency, and respect for human dignity, it can become one of humanity’s greatest allies in building a more informed, compassionate, and resilient society.
In many ways, this vision continues the legacy of Dharma Ratna Yami. Long before the age of computers or artificial intelligence, he understood that the strength of a nation depends on educated citizens who possess the courage to question, the wisdom to seek evidence, and an unwavering commitment to truth. His life reminds us that while technology evolves, the values of critical thinking, intellectual honesty, and compassion remain timeless foundations of human progress.