Speaker
In a world where information travels faster than ever, why is trust in facts, experts, and institutions collapsing? Vikas Swarup presents a lecture on the crisis of truth in the digital age.
Social media platforms reward content that attracts attention rather than accuracy, while artificial intelligence can now generate persuasive text, images, audio, and video at unprecedented scale. Swarup examines the technological, psychological, and societal forces driving this crisis, its implications for democracy and social cohesion, and the urgent need to foster critical thinking and digital literacy — including the role institutions like Azim Premji University can play in nurturing informed, questioning, and ethically grounded citizens.
This lecture is a part of Azim Premji University’s Public Lecture Series.
Presented by:
Venue: Seminar Halls
Speaker
Vikas Swarup
Vikas Swarup is a former Indian diplomat, television host, and internationally bestselling author. During his 35-year career in the Indian Foreign Service, he held senior positions including Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, High Commissioner to Canada, and Secretary (West). From 2021 to 2023, he hosted Diplomatic Dispatch on Sansad TV. He is the author of Six Suspects, The Accidental Apprentice, and The Girl with the Seven Lives, and has been translated into 47 languages world over. He also authored Q&A, which was adapted into the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. He has been awarded four honorary doctorates in recognition of his literary and public service contributions.
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