Artificial Intelligence in Tirumala darshan: a contentious debate unfolds

The remarks made by former Chief Secretary L. V. Subramanyam regarding the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the darshan process of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala have ignited an intriguing debate among employees.

During his recent visit to the hill temple, Mr. Subramanyam, who also served as the Executive Officer of the TTD, expressed his reservations about implementing AI in the darshan process, urging the management to drop the idea which he opined was difficult to ground.

Conversely, the incumbent TTD Board, led by Chairman B.R. Naidu, is resolute in its pursuit to mitigate waiting times, aiming to facilitate devotees’ darshan within a mere hour or two. To achieve this objective, the Board is engaged in substantive deliberations with prominent IT conglomerates, including Google and TCS.

Mr. Subramanyam underscored that past Trust boards and EOs had similarly explored the feasibility of expediting darshan through advanced technology, but were ultimately compelled to drop these endeavors owing to inherent structural constraints within the temple.

Senior officials concurred with Mr. Subramanyam’s assessment, illustrating that previous administrators who toyed with several options like installing a moving carpet within the sanctum sanctorum or devising ‘Netra Dwaralu’ were forced to abandon these ideas owing to structural limitations and adherence to Agama sastras, respectively.

However, another section of employees has voiced support for Mr. Naidu’s proposal, positing that exploring AI-driven solutions to alleviate prolonged waiting hours is a laudable pursuit. They argue that even if the management does not succeed in its primary objective, it may still yield innovative methods to substantially reduce waiting times.

Mr. Naidu also rebuked Mr. Subramanyam for his remarks, deeming them unsolicited and unjustifiable in light of the global trend towards AI adoption.

He emphasized that the proposal aims not only to curtail waiting hours but also to provide pilgrims with advance information of their darshan timing so as to enable to plan other temple visits in the district more effectively.