As India prepares for AI Summit, Sikhs take lead in identifying faith based AI risks

Amritsar/London: When a WhatsApp message promoting a GPT application branded around the Sikh faith landed on his phone, veteran journalist Harmeet Shah Singh approached it with caution.

Singh, 52, Communications and Advocacy Director of UNITED SIKHS (UK) and a long-time student of Gurbani, began testing the application using prompts drawn from Sikh scriptural themes. What followed raised serious concerns.

According to Shah, the AI tool generated verses presented as Gurbani that do not exist in primary or secondary Sikh religious sources.

“This GPT app under Sikh branding was inventing Gurbani. This goes beyond the scourge of synthetic videos or manipulated images that offend religious sensibilities,” he said.

Shah travelled to Delhi from London and subsequently made a formal submission to Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, outlining the risks posed by generative AI systems that are not trained on Sikh scriptural corpora. 

Along with AI researcher Dr Sarbjot Singh, he later met the Jathedar in Delhi and SGPC President Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami in Amritsar to press for institutional engagement with the issue.

“It is not about one or two applications. The larger concern is that foundational generative AI systems are not trained on Gurbani. As chatbots increasingly become gateways to knowledge, copycat applications, as well as mainstream AI engines developed by major technology companies, may continue producing fabricated scriptural content at scale unless steps are taken to engage with these platforms and ensure accurate training on Sikh sacred writings,” Shah said.

Following these representations, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee constituted a sub committee of technical experts to examine the implications of AI generated misinformation relating to Sikhi.

The committee held its first meeting on Friday at the SGPC headquarters in Amritsar.

Participants included Harmeet Shah Singh from UNITED SIKHS (UK), Dr Sarpreet Singh of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Dr Gurpal Singh of Khalsa College, Dr Jagdeep Singh Mallhi and Dr Satinderpal Singh of Guru Nanak Engineering College, Dr Sarbjot Singh (UK), SGPC System Administrator Karmvir Singh, and IT Department In charge Shivraj Singh. Dr Harjinder Singh Sandhu (USA) joined the proceedings online.

The developments come even as the India AI Impact Summit 2026 is scheduled to take place in New Delhi from February 16 to February 20. The summit is expected to draw senior technology leaders from Silicon Valley along with several heads of government and state.

In a statement, the SGPC said members of its A.I.  sub committee had committed to extending cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by AI generated content relating to the Sikh faith.

“…a report based on the deliberations of the meeting will be submitted to the SGPC President. Upon approval, further action will be initiated,” the SGPC said.